Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba has directed journalist and political commentator Andrew Mwenda to stop commenting on the ongoing succession dispute in the Tooro Kingdom.
In a post on X on September 14, 2026, Muhoozi said he had instructed Mwenda not to speak about matters concerning the Tooro succession again. His message came shortly after the burial of the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
“I have instructed comrade Andrew Mwenda not to speak about the issues of Tooro again. He will stop it immediately,” Muhoozi wrote. The statement was reported by multiple Ugandan news outlets, including The Tower Post and Pulse Uganda.
Muhoozi also used the message to express condolences to the people of Tooro. He said that, as PLU, they continued to sympathise with the Batooro following the death of King Oyo.
The directive came amid a highly public debate over who should succeed Oyo, who died in the United States on August 27, 2026, after receiving treatment for cancer. His death immediately created a succession question within the Tooro royal establishment.
Mwenda had become one of the most vocal public commentators on the succession process. On September 4, he reported that the Royal Succession Committee had selected Prince George Desmond Kamurasi as its preferred successor to King Oyo.
According to Mwenda’s account, the 21-member committee met in Fort Portal, with 18 members attending the particular meeting and 15 voting in favour of Kamurasi. The announcement came before the formal public declaration by the Babiito leadership.
Mwenda also reported that he had spoken with Gen Muhoozi and Gen Kayanja Muhanga about the committee’s decision. He said Muhoozi supported the committee’s choice and that President Yoweri Museveni also supported it. Those claims were attributed to Mwenda in reports at the time.
However, the succession process later took a different direction. The Babiito succession process ultimately produced Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as the successor, and the announcement was followed by his traditional assumption of the throne. Reuters reported that Kijanangoma formally assumed power at Oyo’s burial through the traditional ceremony involving nine coffee berries.
The change in events meant that the earlier discussion surrounding George Kamurasi became part of the wider succession controversy. Mwenda subsequently continued commenting publicly on the competing positions surrounding the throne and the late king’s reported wishes.
A major issue in the dispute has been the claim that King Oyo left behind a biological son who was named as his heir. Members of Oyo’s family have referred to a 2022 will which they say identifies the son as the first person in line to succeed him.
The reported will has become central to the disagreement because the royal family has argued that the late king’s wishes should be considered in determining the succession. The succession committee, however, proceeded with its own process and eventually selected Kijanangoma.
The controversy has involved several members of the royal family, including Queen Mother Best Kemigisa and Princess Ruth Komuntale. They have publicly raised concerns about the succession process and the treatment of the reported heir.
The dispute has also involved different interpretations of Tooro customs and the procedures used to select a new monarch. While the Babiito leadership has relied on the clan succession process, members of Oyo’s family have continued to raise questions about the late king’s alleged will and his reported son.
On September 15, the Tooro Kingdom Supreme Council unanimously endorsed Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma Nyabongo I as the elected successor to King Oyo. The council’s resolution added the support of the kingdom’s representative body to the earlier Babiito declaration.
The government, however, had not yet formally gazetted Kijanangoma as king according to the September 15 report by Daily Monitor. This has left the succession process under continued public attention as the different issues surrounding the late king’s succession are considered.
Against this background, Muhoozi’s directive to Mwenda has introduced another significant development. Rather than allowing the public debate to continue through individual statements and social media posts, Muhoozi has specifically asked Mwenda to stop speaking about the Tooro succession.
Mwenda has previously been closely involved in public discussions about the kingdom and has used his platforms to explain his understanding of the succession process. His earlier announcement about Kamurasi’s selection attracted widespread attention because it came before the formal declaration of the new king.
The succession dispute has therefore developed through several stages, beginning with competing claims over who had been selected, followed by questions about Oyo’s reported son and will, and eventually the selection and traditional installation of Kijanangoma.
As Tooro continues to mourn King Oyo and adjusts to a new phase following his death, Muhoozi’s latest statement calls for Mwenda to withdraw from the public discussion. The directive comes as the kingdom’s succession process remains a matter of significant public interest and as different parties continue to hold different positions over the late king’s successor.
Muhoozi ended his message by again expressing sympathy to the people of Tooro and calling for the late king to rest in peace. His instruction to Mwenda now adds another chapter to the succession controversy, with attention shifting to whether public commentary by prominent figures will reduce as the kingdom moves forward with its new leadership.
