The succession to Tooro’s throne has entered a decisive phase after the Babiito royal clan on Tuesday announced September 29 as the coronation date for Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma Nyabongo I.
The installation ceremony comes weeks after the death of Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who was buried last Saturday.
Mr Charles Kamurasi, the head of the Babiito royal clan, said, ‘From today until September 29, we shall be preparing for the coronation of the new Omukama of Tooro Kingdom, Nyabongo I.’
Mr Kamurasi said the Kingdom’s supreme council sitting on Tuesday welcomed the decision from the Babiito royal clan, which announced Kiijanangoma as the successor of Omukama Oyo.
The announcement comes amid ongoing discussions over the succession to the Tooro throne following the death and burial of King Oyo.
Mr Kamurasi said he would announce the formation of committees in charge of organising the coronation.
‘From today, I am going to make announcements to all sections of the people concerned with the coronation preparations. We are going to start with the committees.’
He said work would also commence with cleaning and preparing the palace grounds ahead of the ceremonies.
Mr Kamurasi said the designated king would pass through the Mugabate or the royal parlour, where several rituals, including a mock battle, would be performed.
He also said the king would undergo further rituals before being declared the winner of the battle, as the Empango royal drum would then be sounded.
Despite President Museveni seeking a legal opinion from the Attorney General on the Tooro succession, Mr Kamurasi said the Babiito royal clan had not received any communication preventing it from proceeding with traditional arrangements to install the new king.
‘I know His Excellency the President sought an opinion from the Attorney General, but as far as we are concerned, we have not had any communication from there barring us from going ahead with our Tooro norms and traditions to install the king.’
Mr David Baguma, one of the key ritualists known as Omujaguzi from Basiita clan, said: ‘We shall perform rituals of the installation on whoever the Musuuga will present to us will be our king.’
He said they will perform their duty of turning the four major royal drums upward and other royal regalia inside the palace as one way to show that the kingdom now has a reigning monarch.
As the preparations get underway, Prince Kijanangoma, the king-designate, has already begun an initiation process by elders to prepare him for his new responsibilities.
‘The elders are helping the king-designate to understand and appreciate his selection as the next Omukama of Tooro, while also equipping him with additional knowledge required for the role,’ Fr Charles Oyo, a member of the Babiito succession committee, said.
He added that the process is also intended to help the prince learn more about the responsibilities of kingship beyond what he already knows.
Fr Oyo said the initiation is part of the wider preparations for the coronation, which the Babiito have said is being organised following the completion of the funeral rites for the late King Oyo.
At the Karuziika Palace, armed UPDF security personnel have maintained a presence at all three gates, with visitors required to register and have their details checked before entering.
Contention
Despite the Kingdom announcing the coronation date, the Kaboyo family, including Queen Mother Best Kemigisa, and Princess Ruth Komutale, have rejected the proclamation, saying Oyo left behind a Will which they said should be followed to guide the succession.
The Babiito are also being accused of breaching the Oyo burial MoU, which the two parties signed on September 12, a few hours before his burial.
Ms Mary Kutesa, the State minister for Gender, Labour, and Social Development, who signed as a neutral government minister and custodian of the tomb keys, urged the people of Tooro to remain calm and allow the Babiito royal clan manage the succession of King Oyo in accordance with the kingdom’s customs and the law.
She said the institution of a cultural leader is a corporation sole with perpetual succession, meaning that while an individual monarch may die, the legal personality attached to the institution continues through successive holders of the throne.
‘Tooro Kingdom will sadly not get another Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV in this seat, but Tooro Kingdom will certainly have another able monarch in the seat to continue that legal personality in perpetuity,’ Ms Kuteesa said.
She added: ‘Tooro Kingdom has had several successful successions and there is no reason to doubt the kingdom’s experience in ensuring this continuity.’
She also pointed to the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act, 2011, saying the law provides a framework for the recognition of traditional and cultural leaders.
She cited Section 5 of the Act, which provides that a person may be installed as a traditional or cultural leader if the person derives allegiance from birth or descent in accordance with the customs, traditions, usage or consent of the people being led.
She said the government’s role comes after the kingdom has completed its own cultural process.
The minister appealed to people outside the succession process to avoid interfering with the kingdom’s affairs through unsolicited opinions or information that could deepen divisions within the royal family.
She cautioned against deception and unverified information that could create unnecessary divisions among members of the royal family and the wider Tooro community.
‘Let us not tear the Royal family apart with unsolicited opinions and, many times, outright deception. I am confident that Babiito will consider all their royal sons and in accordance with their customs, agree with Tooro clans on who should succeed our beloved King Oyo,’ she warned.
With the date now set, the Babiito clan says the focus turns to what lies ahead, including the formal cultural and legal steps required to install a new king.
Utility
Procedure.
Once Tooro Kingdom has declared a cultural leader in accordance with the culture, customs and traditions or wishes and aspirations of the people of Tooro, only then does the government, represented by the minister responsible for culture, cause a declaration to be published in the Gazette in accordance with Section 6.
– Mary Kutesa, the State Minister for Gender, Labour, and Social Development