Tooro Kingdom’s Supreme Council has endorsed Crown Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma Nyabongo I as the successor to the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, clearing another major hurdle in the process to install a new Omukama.
The endorsement was made on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, during a sitting of the Supreme Council at Muchwa Kingdom Headquarters in Fort Portal City.
Omujwera Musuuga Charles Kamurasi, head of the Babiito Royal Clan, formally declared Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma before the council, saying the 21-member Babiito succession committee had selected him to succeed the late King Oyo.
Following the declaration, the Supreme Council unanimously endorsed the Babiito clan’s decision, with members signing a resolution supporting Edward as the next Omukama of Tooro.
Edward will reign under the name Omukama Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I, according to the declaration made before the council.
The development gives the Babiito Royal Clan and the kingdom’s Supreme Council a fresh mandate to proceed with preparations for the enthronement of the new king.
According to information obtained by Daily Star, preparations are now underway for Edward’s enthronement on September 29, 2026, at Karuzika Royal Palace in Fort Portal City.
The development comes less than a month after the death of King Oyo, who died on August 27, 2026, aged 34, after battling cancer while undergoing treatment in the United States.
Oyo ascended the Tooro throne in 1995 at the age of three following the death of his father, Omukama Patrick Matthew David Kaboyo Olimi III. His accession made him the world’s youngest reigning monarch at the time, and he went on to reign for more than three decades.
During his reign, Oyo became one of Uganda’s most prominent cultural leaders, with his public profile extending beyond Tooro. He advocated for youth empowerment, education, health, HIV/AIDS awareness and environmental conservation.
His death, however, immediately triggered a succession dispute within the royal family.
Members of Oyo’s immediate family, including his sister Princess Ruth Komuntale and Queen Mother Best Kemigisa, have questioned the decision to select Edward, saying the late king had left a will naming his biological son as his heir.
The alleged son has not been publicly identified, and the claim has been one of the central issues in the dispute over who should inherit the Tooro throne.
The Babiito clan, which is traditionally responsible for identifying the successor to the Tooro throne, has maintained that Edward was properly selected through the traditional succession process.
Edward is a cousin of the late King Oyo and has worked as a journalist, news anchor and editor with Uganda Broadcasting Corporation. His selection therefore marks a return of the Babiito royal lineage to the centre of the kingdom’s leadership after Oyo’s 31-year reign.
Tuesday’s Supreme Council resolution is significant because it brings the kingdom’s highest representative body behind the Babiito succession decision.
However, questions surrounding the legality and recognition of the succession remain, with the government yet to formally recognise Edward as king-elect. The Attorney General has previously been reported to have raised questions over the succession process and the claims surrounding Oyo’s alleged will.
For now, the Babiito clan has moved ahead with preparations for the planned September 29 enthronement, setting the stage for Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I to take over the Tooro throne from the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
