FORT PORTAL — Princess Ruth Nsemere Komuntale, the Batebe of Tooro and sister of the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, has insisted that her brother left a biological son who should succeed him, as questions continue to mount over the identity and status of the child.
Komuntale has repeatedly challenged the decision by the Babiito Royal Succession Committee to select Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as Oyo’s successor, saying the late king’s will provides for his biological son to inherit the Tooro throne.
On September 10, Komuntale wrote on X: “The heir of the throne must be a biological son of the deceased reigning king. This is what we want cultural leaders to know. My brother left a son and that who we should enthrone.”
In another post, she said: “We are not giving up on what is true. My brother left a son and culture should prevail.”
She later stated: “We have the HEIR and we know him.”
Komuntale has also questioned why the succession committee proceeded with the selection of Kijanangoma despite the will.
“Why are the ‘leaders’ bypass the WILL of my brother? These are the questions we should ask ourselves,” she wrote.
Elders demand details
The dispute has, however, centred increasingly on the identity of the child, who had not been publicly known before Oyo’s death.
A report by New Vision on Saturday said members of the Babiito royal clan are demanding details about the reported heir as the kingdom faces pressure to resolve the succession question.
The newspaper reported that those supporting the late king’s family argued that Oyo had no reason to publicly announce a young son while he was alive because he did not know that he would die at 34.
One participant was quoted as asking: “Why would the king talk about a young son? Did he know that he was going to die?”
The reported heir’s identity, age, mother and other personal details have not been publicly disclosed by the royal family.
According to accounts of the succession committee’s deliberations, the child was presented as a possible candidate, but the committee sought additional information.
Journalist Andrew Mwenda, who has described the proceedings involving the Babiito succession committee, said Patrick Kawamara, a brother of Queen Mother Best Kemigisa and a member of the committee, presented the reported son.
Mwenda said the committee asked Kawamara to provide a photograph of the child, but none was produced. He also said the committee was given two different names for the boy — initially Jacob Oyo and later Jackson Oyo — and was told his mother was a Muhinda. The committee, according to Mwenda’s account, also sought details about the mother’s family in Tooro but did not receive them.
The committee subsequently removed the reported son from consideration, according to Mwenda’s account.
The allegations about the lack of documentation have not established that the child does not exist; rather, they highlight the unresolved question of whether he has been formally identified and recognised in accordance with Tooro’s succession traditions.
Will names biological son
The dispute intensified after the reading of a document presented as Oyo’s 2022 will.
According to reports, the will, dated September 14, 2022, states that if Oyo died leaving a son “lawfully recognised as my biological Son,” he would appoint that son as his heir to the Tooro throne.
The document also reportedly provides for alternative successors if the biological son is unable to assume the throne.
Oyo’s mother, Queen Mother Best Kemigisa, has rejected the selection of Kijanangoma, arguing that the royal clan should first address the provisions of the will.
The Tooro Kingdom Prime Minister, Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki, has called for restraint and a process that considers the will, Tooro customs and the applicable law before a final decision is made.
The succession committee, meanwhile, selected Kijanangoma after considering several candidates. Reports say the committee had earlier considered the reported son alongside other members of the royal family before choosing Kijanangoma.
Dispute continues as Oyo is buried
The succession dispute has unfolded as Tooro prepares to bury Oyo at the Karambi Royal Tombs in Fort Portal on Saturday.
Oyo died on August 27, 2026, aged 34, while receiving cancer treatment in the United States. He became Omukama of Tooro in 1995 at the age of three.
The reported existence of a son has attracted international attention because Oyo was unmarried and had not previously been publicly known to have a child. Reuters reported that the child’s identity and the identity of his mother had not been disclosed, while the royal family maintains that the child is the heir named in Oyo’s will.
Komuntale has called for the matter to be resolved peacefully while maintaining that the will and Tooro’s traditions should be respected.
“The heir of the throne must be a biological son of the deceased reigning king,” she said. “My brother left a son and that who we should enthrone.”
For now, the central unanswered questions remain whether the reported child will be formally identified to the Babiito elders, whether he will be recognised as Oyo’s biological son under Tooro’s traditions and law, and whether the succession committee’s selection of Kijanangoma can stand alongside the claims made in the late king’s will.
