The burial of Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV descended into an extraordinary royal standoff, with the Queen Mother, Best Kemigisa, and Princess Ruth Komuntale reportedly resisting attempts to remove the King’s body from the vehicle as rival factions battled over who should perform the final cultural rites.
The tense scenes at the Karambi Royal Tombs in Fort Portal came against the backdrop of a deeper dispute over the succession of the late King, with some members of the royal family insisting that Oyo’s reported will must be respected while others have moved to recognise Prince Edward Kijjanangoma Rukidi as his successor.
The standoff was eventually resolved following intervention from President Yoweri Museveni through Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa and Minister Gen Henry Tumukunde.
However, the resolution came amid a heavy deployment of security personnel, with UPDF soldiers taking positions around the royal burial grounds as the kingdom prepared to lay to rest the monarch who died aged 34 after battling cancer.
King Oyo was eventually buried and accorded a seven-gun salute.
Queen Mother Refuses To Move
According to sources at the burial, the most dramatic moment occurred when the Queen Mother reportedly refused to leave the vehicle carrying her son’s body.
“The Queen Mother had refused to leave the vehicle carrying the body, despite repeated efforts by the ministers and the deputy speaker to convince her. Their attempts had yielded no results, and the situation was getting increasingly tense,” a source said.
The standoff reportedly centred on information reaching the Queen Mother that Prince Edward Kijjanangoma Rukidi had been brought into the burial proceedings to perform one of the most significant rituals associated with the burial of a Tooro king.
Sources said the prince was expected to perform the ritual involving the throwing of nine coffee berries or beans.
It was this development that reportedly triggered fresh resistance from sections of the royal family who questioned the circumstances under which a new king was being introduced before Oyo’s burial had been completed.
The dispute turned the King’s final journey into a contest over tradition, succession and the authority of the royal family.
Princess Komuntale, who has been at the centre of the mourning ceremonies, was also reportedly locked inside the vehicle during the tense moments.
The Nine Coffee Berries
The controversy surrounding the nine coffee berries goes to the heart of Tooro’s traditional burial customs.
Sources familiar with the kingdom’s traditions said the ritual is reserved for a reigning king, meaning that the person performing it must be recognised as the legitimate king under the applicable customs.
This explains why the reported presence of Prince Kijjanangoma generated such strong emotions among sections of the royal family. Supporters of his selection reportedly viewed the ritual as part of the process of transitioning the kingdom from one reign to another.
Opponents, however, saw the move as an attempt to impose a successor before questions surrounding Oyo’s reported wishes had been settled.
The controversy has since spilled onto social media, where Tooro subjects have been asking whether the King’s alleged will should take precedence over the decisions being made by kingdom officials. One social-media commentator, Mr Government, asked: “Will the will be followed?”
Other commentators questioned who, under Tooro culture, has the authority to bury a deceased king. Some argued that only the Babiito, the royal clan, should perform the burial rites, while others questioned whether the Queen Mother has a role in the final cultural rituals.
Oyo’s Reported Will
At the centre of the succession dispute is a reported will attributed to the late King Oyo.
According to sources, the will provides that Oyo’s son should succeed him as King upon his death.
This position has become a major rallying point for sections of the royal family opposed to the reported selection of Prince Kijjanangoma.
The argument is straightforward: if Oyo left instructions naming his son as his successor, then those wishes should be honoured.
But the succession dispute is complicated by the fact that the identity, legal status and applicability of the reported will have not been publicly settled.
The disagreement has therefore developed into two competing positions—those who argue that established Tooro traditional processes should determine the successor and those who insist that Oyo’s personal wishes, as contained in his alleged will, must be respected.
The dispute has also exposed divisions among members of the Babiito royal family.
Museveni Intervenes
As tensions mounted, President Museveni reportedly intervened to prevent the disagreement from overshadowing the King’s burial.
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa and Gen Tumukunde were involved in efforts to persuade the Queen Mother and other royals to allow the burial proceedings to continue.
Their intervention eventually paved the way for the body to be taken to the royal tombs.
The heavy security deployment around the venue, however, underscored the sensitivity of the situation.
UPDF soldiers were deployed around the burial grounds and access points, while senior security officials monitored developments.
The security presence came after days of controversy surrounding the King’s funeral arrangements, including disagreements over access to the royal palace, burial rituals and the succession.
A King’s Final Salute
Despite the drama, the burial eventually proceeded. King Oyo was laid to rest at the Karambi Royal Tombs, where his ancestors have been buried.
The late monarch was accorded a seven-gun salute in recognition of his status and service as cultural leader of the Tooro people.
For many mourners, the military salute marked the final public farewell to a young king who ascended the throne as a child and became one of Uganda’s most recognisable cultural leaders.
But beneath the solemnity of the occasion remained a kingdom divided over what comes next.
The succession question is now expected to dominate Tooro affairs following the burial.
