Best Kemigisa Akiiki and King Oyo’s paternal aunt Princess Elizabeth Bagaya have stuck to their guns on succession
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I As Tooro Kingdom prepares to bury the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, Queen Mother Best Kemigisa Akiiki finds herself at the centre of a succession crisis that has dramatically weakened her influence but has not necessarily ended her fight to have her late son’s wishes respected.
The dispute erupted into the open on Wednesday, September 9, when members of the Babiito royal clan announced Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as the next Omukama, despite the royal family’s insistence that Oyo’s throne should pass to his biological son if such a child had been legally recognised.
The development came only days before Oyo’s burial tomorrow September 12, turning what was expected to be a solemn period of mourning into a bitter contest over the future of the kingdom.
Kemigisa’s position challenged
The succession committee, comprising 21 members, reportedly reached its decision after 19 members signed a resolution endorsing Kijanangoma.
The decision effectively bypassed the position of Queen Mother Kemigisa and the immediate royal family, who had argued that Oyo’s wishes, contained in a written will, should guide the succession.
At a press conference, Oyo’s sister, Princess Ruth Nsemere Komuntale, said the will had provided for a son of the late king to inherit the throne if he was legally recognised as Oyo’s biological child.
A section of the document cited by the kingdom’s spokesperson states: “I hereby declare and direct that if, at the date of my death, I am survived by a son lawfully recognised as my biological son, I appoint him as my heir to the throne of the kingdom of Tooro.”
The disclosure immediately transformed the succession debate.
The royal family’s position is that the existence of the alleged child provides a clear route to succession under Oyo’s own instructions. But the Babiito faction supporting Kijanangoma has questioned whether the child was ever formally presented to the traditional elders in accordance with Tooro customs.
That disagreement has become the central fault line in the succession battle.
Queen Mother claims royal family is besieged
The Queen Mother’s influence suffered another major blow after she claimed that she and members of the immediate royal family had effectively been placed under house arrest.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Kemigisa accused a “self-appointed group of clan members” of selecting a new king despite having the late monarch’s will read to them only hours earlier.
She also claimed that security personnel had removed the royal guards without notice and deployed troops around Karuziika Palace.
“We cannot leave or receive people freely,” she said, describing the situation as “house arrest”. The claim has added a security dimension to what was initially a cultural and succession dispute.
Kemigisa subsequently appealed to President Yoweri Museveni and Uganda’s military leadership, asking them to intervene and allow the royal family to conduct Oyo’s burial peacefully.
Why Kemigisa has not lost
Despite the dramatic declaration of Kijanangoma as successor, Kemigisa’s battle cannot yet be considered conclusively lost.
The clan’s decision has created a rival claimant, but it has not erased the unresolved question surrounding Oyo’s alleged son or definitively settled how the late king’s will should be interpreted within Tooro’s traditional succession system.
The Queen Mother and Princess Ruth have continued to insist that the immediate priority should be to bury Oyo peacefully before the kingdom proceeds with a potentially divisive succession process.
Their position, however, faces increasing pressure from members of the public who want the alleged Crown Prince to be formally presented.
For critics, the central question is simple: if the child exists and is genuinely Oyo’s biological son, why has he not been publicly presented to the Babiito elders and the kingdom? That question has placed Kemigisa’s camp under growing scrutiny.
Burial now comes before the crown
The timing of the dispute has made the situation particularly sensitive. Oyo’s burial at the Karambi Royal Tombs on Saturday is expected to draw royal family members, cultural leaders, government officials and thousands of mourners.
The traditional burial rites are expected to proceed under the established authority of the Babiito leadership, even as the succession controversy remains unresolved.
For Kemigisa, therefore, the immediate battle is no longer simply about who has been declared the next king.
It is about preserving the possibility that her late son’s wishes—and the alleged biological heir named in his will—will still receive consideration.
The Babiito declaration of Kijanangoma has undoubtedly dealt a severe blow to the Queen Mother’s position. But until the competing claims over Oyo’s alleged son, his will and the traditional requirements for recognising a successor are resolved, the succession battle remains open.
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