Prince David Kijanangoma Araali, a member of the Tooro royal family and elder brother of the newly selected Tooro king, Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, has died after a prolonged battle with throat cancer.
The prince died at the Uganda Cancer Institute in Mulago, Kampala, on Tuesday, according to his family and reports from Ugandan media.
New Tooro King Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma announced his brother’s death in a brief statement on Tuesday.
“It’s with a heavy heart that I announce the untimely passing on of my elder brother Prince David Kijanangoma. Prince David has lost a long time battle to cancer.”
The family later announced that funeral arrangements would be communicated.
According to Daily Monitor, Prince David had been battling cancer for more than a year and was reportedly receiving treatment for stage-three throat cancer at the Uganda Cancer Institute.
His family and friends had in April appealed for financial assistance towards his treatment, with reports that he needed about Shs700 million for specialised treatment in India.
Challenge to King Oyo
Prince David became prominent in Tooro affairs in 2015 when he challenged the reign of his cousin, the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
He publicly criticised Oyo’s leadership and sought to have himself installed as king, arguing that the monarchy under Oyo had been mismanaged. Contemporary reports said Kijanangoma accused Oyo of abandoning his palace and spending extended periods in Buganda, while also questioning decisions affecting the kingdom’s administration.
The dispute escalated into an attempt to have Kijanangoma crowned as an alternative king. Oyo subsequently went to court seeking to block the planned coronation.
The Fort Portal High Court later dismissed Oyo’s application seeking to stop Kijanangoma’s coronation.
Kijanangoma’s proposed coronation did not ultimately take place, with authorities intervening in the dispute. In 2017, police also warned him against a planned self-coronation.
Death amid fresh Tooro succession dispute
Prince David’s death comes less than three weeks after King Oyo died in the United States on August 27, 2026, aged 34, after receiving cancer treatment.
Following Oyo’s death, the Babiito royal succession committee selected Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, David’s younger brother and Oyo’s cousin, as the next Tooro king.
The succession, however, remains contested. Oyo’s immediate family has invoked a will dated September 2022, which they say provides for a biological son of the late king to succeed him if the child is lawfully recognised. The Babiito succession committee has questioned the existence and recognition of the purported heir.
Edward’s selection therefore remains part of an unresolved succession process even as the Tooro royal family mourns another member.
Prince David’s death marks another loss for the Babiito royal family following the death and burial of King Oyo at the Karambi Royal Tombs on September 12.
