The Omusuuga(head of the Babiito royal clan), Charles Kamurasi, has dismissed claims by journalist Andrew Mwenda that a 21-member committee has selected George Desmond Kamurasi as the heir to the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
Kamurasi said he was not aware of any such decision and denied speaking to Mwenda about the alleged selection.
“I don’t know anything. I don’t know anything,” Kamurasi said when asked about the reported decision.
He also rejected claims that he had communicated with Mwenda, saying the journalist holds no official position in the Tooro Kingdom and therefore has no authority to announce a successor.
Mwenda, a journalist and close associate of the Tooro royal family, on Friday published a lengthy statement on X claiming that a 21-member committee had met at Fort Motel in Fort Portal to discuss the succession.
According to Mwenda, 18 members attended the meeting, with 15 voting in favour of George Desmond Kamurasi as the next King of Tooro.
Kamurasi, however, said he was also unaware of claims that the late King Oyo had left behind a biological son.
“I don’t know anything about the son of Oyo,” he said.
George Desmond Kamurasi is a son of George Desmond Mugenyi, a younger brother of the late King Patrick David Mathew Kaboyo Olimi III, the father of King Oyo, who died in 1995.
The conflicting accounts come as the Tooro Kingdom continues to observe a nine-day mourning period following the death of King Oyo.
King Oyo died recently after a period of illness, leaving the kingdom preparing for his burial on September 12, 2026.
The question of his successor has attracted growing public attention, with various names and claims emerging ahead of the burial.
The identity of the next Omukama is expected to become clearer as the kingdom completes the mourning and succession processes.
