Kamurasi with First Daughter Diana Kyaremera
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Down the streets of London might emerge a king, the head of the ancient Tooro kingdom. This follows the decision of the Royal Succession Committee, which has reportedly selected George Desmond Kamurasi, a 36-year-old football coach and member of the Babiito royal family, as the proposed successor to the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
The reported decision has thrust into the national spotlight a man largely unknown to many Ugandans, but whose life story combines royal lineage, personal adversity, football and years spent away from Uganda.
Journalist Andrew Mwenda, who is a close associate of the royal family, said the 21-member Royal Succession Committee endorsed Kamurasi during a meeting held at Fort Motel in Fort Portal City on Friday, September 4.
According to Mwenda, 18 members attended the meeting and 15 voted in favour of Kamurasi after several days of deliberations.
“We now await the Omusuuga to make a formal announcement officially to the Babiito clan leaders,” Mwenda said.
The decision has not yet been formally announced by Tooro Kingdom, however, meaning Kamurasi remains a proposed successor rather than the officially proclaimed king.
Formal announcement awaits Oyo’s burial
Mwenda said Omusuuga Charles Akiiki Kamurasi, who chairs the succession committee, informed him that Tooro custom requires the public announcement of the successor after the burial of the late king.
Mwenda nevertheless disclosed the committee’s decision ahead of the formal proclamation, saying he wanted to prevent speculation circulating on social media from creating confusion.
The succession committee was constituted by the Babiito, Tooro’s royal clan, on August 28, two days after King Oyo died in Texas while undergoing treatment.
The committee reportedly began meeting daily on Monday, August 31, as the royal clan worked to settle the question of succession.
Under Tooro tradition, the Babiito and their designated succession structures play the central role in selecting a monarch. The kingdom is therefore expected to concentrate first on King Oyo’s funeral and burial before formally presenting his successor.
A royal lineage stretching generations
Kamurasi’s strongest claim lies in his direct connection to Tooro’s royal family.
He is the son of Prince George Desmond “Jimmy” Mugenyi, a younger brother of King Patrick David Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III, who was King Oyo’s father.
This makes Kamurasi a first cousin of the late king.
He is also a grandson of King George David Matthew Kamurasi Rukidi III, who ruled Tooro between 1928 and 1965.
According to Mwenda, the succession question also has a historical dimension. He said Rukidi III’s will placed Jimmy Mugenyi second in line to succeed his elder brother, King Olimi Kaboyo.
That lineage became particularly significant after Oyo’s death on August 26, aged 34.
Oyo had ruled Tooro since 1995, when he was crowned at only three years old following the death of his father.
The heir controversy
The search for Oyo’s successor followed uncertainty over whether the late king had left a biological heir.
Tooro Kingdom Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki initially said Oyo had left a young prince who would be introduced according to tradition.
President Yoweri Museveni also referred to information from Queen Mother Best Kemigisa about a young boy believed to be an heir.
Kamurasi with his wedded wife and son
But Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi and other Babiito elders later said they had never been informed of any biological child belonging to the late king.
The clan consequently turned to the wider royal family and established the succession committee to guide the process.
Mwenda now says the committee settled on Kamurasi after what he described as extensive consultations and broad consensus among key stakeholders.
“After extensive consultations with all the key stakeholders, the committee was convinced that there is a wide consensus around the succession of Kamurasi,” he said.
From prison to the football pitch
For someone who could soon occupy Karuziika Palace, Kamurasi has followed an unconventional path.
Much of his adult life has been spent in Britain, where football has been central to his career.
Kamurasi with Kylian Mbappe
Videos from his coaching work portray him as an intense and motivational figure who frequently speaks about discipline, accountability, resilience and recovering from failure.
Kamurasi has openly discussed the difficult period of his adolescence after his mother died when he was 14.
“I was angry. I made the wrong decisions. I got into the wrong circle and ended up in jail,” he recalled in one video.
He said his time in prison forced him to confront his actions and accept responsibility rather than blame other people.
“I was in that cell when I realised that everything I had done was my fault. I took responsibility,” he said.
Football subsequently became his route to rebuilding his life.
After leaving prison, he said he committed himself to the sport, pursued opportunities and achieved milestones that had previously seemed impossible.
“I came out; went into football and put myself out there. I chased it and won things,” he said.
He also recalled being scouted by the Nike Academy and playing in Barcelona while former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola watched.
A life built in Britain
Kamurasi’s football journey later took him through lower-league and grassroots football in England. He has been associated with clubs including Ashford United and has worked as a goalkeeper and sports coach.
UK company records identify him as British, resident in England, with his occupation listed as a sports coach.
His coaching philosophy appears heavily influenced by his own experiences. He tells young players that mistakes should not permanently define them and repeatedly stresses hard work, discipline and personal responsibility.
His sporting journey has also brought him into contact with prominent football personalities, including French star Kylian Mbappe.
Outside football, Kamurasi is reported to have recently married a British woman identified as Abbey, and the couple have a son.
Backing from Museveni and Muhoozi
Mwenda said he had briefed Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba and Land Forces Commander Gen Kayanja Muhanga about the committee’s decision.
“Gen Kainerugaba fully endorses the choice of the Succession Committee of Tooro because it is consistent with the customs, all precedents and laws of Tooro on succession,” Mwenda said.
He further claimed that President Museveni supported the committee’s decision and dispatched a delegation led by a senior Cabinet minister to Fort Portal to consult key stakeholders.
Neither State House nor Tooro Kingdom had issued an official public statement confirming Kamurasi’s selection by the time of publication.
A very different king
If formally proclaimed and eventually installed, Kamurasi would enter Karuziika Palace with a markedly different background from King Oyo.
Oyo was introduced to kingship as a toddler and spent virtually his entire life under the public gaze and obligations of the throne.
Kamurasi, by contrast, has spent much of his adulthood in Britain, playing and coaching football while building a family life away from Uganda’s royal spotlight.
His reported selection therefore represents not merely a change of monarch, but potentially the arrival of a dramatically different personality at the head of Tooro.
The qualities Kamurasi has preached on football pitches — discipline, resilience, accountability and the determination to recover from setbacks — could soon face their biggest test yet: guiding one of Uganda’s oldest and most influential cultural institutions through a new era.
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