Attorney General Sam Mayanja has said the Babiito Royal Clan can proceed with the planned coronation of Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma Nyabongo I as the new King of Tooro, noting that no one has formally presented the alleged will or heir said to have been left by the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
Mayanja said the succession dispute remains unresolved because those claiming that the late king left a will naming his son as heir have not produced the document or presented the alleged heir for the legal process to begin.
“These people who have given the information that there’s a will, there’s a son who should take over, have not come out. Maybe the baby doesn’t exist, so let them proceed,” Mayanja said.
His comments come amid a succession dispute within the Tooro royal family following the death of King Oyo in August 2026.
Mayanja also clarified his position on the succession of traditional leaders, saying his latest remarks do not contradict legal advice he previously gave President Yoweri Museveni concerning the Tooro succession.
He explained that the law does not permit a person to ascend to a traditional throne while their father, who is the sitting king, is still alive.
“You cannot ascend the leadership or the throne of our tribes if your father is still alive. So the controversy has risen, then the law says the Traditional Rulers Act, Section 15, if there’s that conflict then let the elders’ council resolve, if it fails go to court. So that’s what I said,” he said.
Mayanja had earlier advised President Museveni that the late King Oyo’s alleged will should be considered in determining his successor. His position was challenged by members of the Babiito Royal Clan after they announced Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as the new King of Tooro.
In his earlier advice, Mayanja argued that succession to traditional leadership is primarily based on birth and descent and that a valid will left by a deceased king should be respected.
“The law recognises that, in ascending to the throne, allegiance principally is derived from birth and subsequently by descent,” Mayanja wrote.
“It therefore follows that where there is a direct descendant of the King by birth, that person, in accordance with King’s valid will would ascend to the throne in accordance with the culture and customs of the Batooro people.”
Mayanja cited a will dated September 14, 2022, which he said was left by King Oyo and provided for his successor.
However, the alleged will and the identity of the reported son have not been formally presented in court, leaving the succession dispute without a judicial determination.
The dispute emerged shortly after Oyo’s death when Queen Mother Best Kemigisa announced that the late king had left a son who should succeed him. The child has not, however, been publicly presented to the Babiito elders or formally introduced as the late king’s heir.
The disagreement intensified during Oyo’s burial, when the Queen Mother reportedly opposed the performance of the first traditional succession rituals by Kijanangoma.
Despite the dispute, Kijanangoma proceeded with the initial rituals associated with the installation process.
The matter subsequently attracted the attention of Mayanja and Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Norbert Mao. Mayanja had previously maintained that the government would not gazette Kijanangoma as King until the succession dispute was resolved.
The Babiito succession committee, however, endorsed Kijanangoma as the successor, saying it had followed Tooro customs and the applicable legal framework in reaching its decision.
The Tooro Kingdom Supreme Council subsequently endorsed Kijanangoma on September 15, adding the kingdom’s representative body to the clan’s decision.
The head of the Babiito Royal Clan, Omujwera Musuuga Charles Kamurasi, later announced September 29, 2026, as the date for Kijanangoma’s coronation at Karuziika Royal Palace in Fort Portal
