oluwatosin oyeniyi FORT PORTAL, Uganda — Uganda’s Tooro Kingdom has enthroned former television news anchor Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as its new king, bringing a contested succession process to a ceremonial conclusion following the death of King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
Kijanangoma, 56, was crowned King Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I on Tuesday, September 29, becoming the 13th monarch of the Batooro people. He succeeds Oyo, who died in August at the age of 34 after receiving treatment for cancer.
The coronation in Fort Portal followed weeks of disagreement within the royal family over who should inherit the throne.
A contested succession
The Babiito royal clan, which provides the Tooro monarchy, selected Kijanangoma through a 21-member succession committee following Oyo’s death.
The decision was subsequently endorsed by the Tooro Kingdom Supreme Council, clearing the way for his enthronement.
But members of Oyo’s immediate family challenged the selection.
Queen Mother Best Kemigisa and Princess Ruth Komuntale said the late king had left a will naming a son as his successor. The child’s identity and existence had not previously been publicly acknowledged, and the Babiito clan said it had no knowledge of such an heir.
The disagreement became particularly sensitive because Oyo himself had ascended the throne as a child after the death of his father. He was only three years old when he became king in 1995 and attracted international attention as one of the world’s youngest monarchs.
From television newsroom to royal palace
Kijanangoma’s path to the throne is unusual.
Before becoming king, he worked as a television news anchor and editor at Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC). He is also a cousin of the late King Oyo and a member of the Babiito royal lineage.
His selection followed another twist in the succession process. Prince George Desmond Kamurasi, a royal relative who had initially been considered for the throne, declined the position, after which the process moved toward Kijanangoma.
The new king has called for unity among the Batooro and pledged to preserve the kingdom’s cultural identity.
A monarchy without political power
The Tooro Kingdom is one of several traditional kingdoms that continue to exist in Uganda despite the country being a constitutional republic.
Uganda abolished its traditional kingdoms in 1967 before restoring them in 1993. Under the current constitutional arrangement, traditional rulers do not exercise political or administrative authority. Their role is primarily cultural.
President Yoweri Museveni attended Kijanangoma’s coronation and has previously emphasised the role of traditional institutions in preserving Uganda’s languages, customs and cultural heritage.
The Tooro monarchy nevertheless retains considerable symbolic importance among the Batooro, making the succession dispute a matter of public interest beyond the royal family.
Legal challenge continues
The coronation did not completely end the dispute.
Two concerned Batooro and a legal advocacy group had sought an interim court order to stop the enthronement while they challenged Kijanangoma’s selection. The attempt to halt Tuesday’s ceremony failed, but lawyers said they would continue with the substantive case.
The legal action includes a request for information concerning the alleged son of the late King Oyo.
That means questions surrounding the succession could remain before the courts even after Kijanangoma has formally assumed the throne.
The dispute also places pressure on royal and cultural leaders to maintain unity within the kingdom while the competing claims are addressed.
Preserving Tooro’s cultural identity
In his inaugural remarks, Nyabongo I emphasised cultural preservation and environmental stewardship.
Those priorities reflect the contemporary role of Uganda’s traditional monarchies, which have increasingly focused on cultural heritage, community development and social mobilisation rather than political administration.
The new king’s background in journalism could also shape his approach to public engagement, particularly as traditional institutions navigate a younger and increasingly connected population.
For the Tooro Kingdom, however, the immediate task is maintaining cohesion after a succession process that exposed divisions within the royal family.
A new chapter for Tooro
Kijanangoma’s enthronement formally begins a new reign, but the questions raised during the succession process have not disappeared.
The royal clan regards the new king’s selection as consistent with Tooro’s traditions and procedures, while members of Oyo’s family continue to raise questions about the alleged will and heir.
How those competing positions are handled will matter for the unity and legitimacy of the institution.
For now, the former television journalist has moved from the newsroom to the royal palace, taking on the responsibilities of leading one of Uganda’s most prominent traditional kingdoms at a moment when its succession, cultural traditions and relationship with its people are receiving renewed scrutiny.
