Tooro royal elders have demanded details and verification of the reported son of the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukiidi IV as the dispute over his successor intensifies ahead of his burial.
The elders are seeking clarification about the child’s identity and circumstances amid competing claims over whether he should inherit the Tooro throne.
The late King’s family has cited his 2022 will, which reportedly provides that a lawfully recognised biological son should succeed him if one existed at the time of his death.
However, the existence and eligibility of the reported child have become central to the succession dispute because he was not publicly known to have been recognised as Oyo’s heir before the King’s death.
Reuters reported Friday that the royal succession committee selected Oyo’s cousin, Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, as his successor, a decision opposed by the late King’s mother and sister, who insist that his son should inherit the throne.
The pro-Oyo voices have argued that the King had no reason to publicly disclose the child while he was alive because he did not know that he would die at a young age.
“Why would the king talk about a young son? Did he know that he was going to die?” one participant in a meeting was quoted as saying.
The argument comes as royal clan elders seek to establish whether the reported child meets the customary and legal requirements for succession.
The Observer reported that the Babiito royal clan had demanded that the reported son be presented for verification before the succession process could proceed.
The controversy follows the reading of Oyo’s reported 2022 will, which names a lawfully recognised biological son as the first heir to the throne. If there were no son able to succeed, the document reportedly names Prince Komwiswa Yoweri, followed by Prince Nyaika Solomon, as alternative successors.
The succession committee, meanwhile, selected Kijanangoma after consultations and due diligence, according to reports.
The disputed child has not been publicly identified, and reports have differed over whether sufficient evidence has been presented to establish his identity and relationship to the late King. Reuters reported that Oyo was not publicly known to have a child and that questions remained over the legitimacy of the reported son.
The dispute has placed the royal family and the Babiito clan at odds over the interpretation of Oyo’s wishes and the application of Tooro customary succession practices.
The Guardian reported that the late King’s family has challenged the selection of Kijanangoma, while the royal clan has maintained that the succession process must follow established customary procedures.
The succession dispute comes just days before Oyo’s scheduled burial at the Karambi Royal Tombs on Saturday, September 12.
Government officials and Tooro Kingdom leaders have been involved in efforts to resolve the disagreement and allow the burial and succession process to proceed peacefully.
King Oyo died on August 27, 2026, aged 34, after receiving treatment in the United States. He ascended the Tooro throne in 1995 at the age of three and reigned for more than three decades.
