Kijanangoma crowned Tooro king amid succession dispute

Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma was crowned king of Uganda’s Tooro Kingdom on September 29, taking the royal name Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I after a 21-member committee of the Babiito clan selected him to succeed his cousin, King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. The coronation went ahead despite objections from Oyo Nyimba’s mother and sister, who say he left a son and a will naming that child as heir. Kijanangoma, 56, is a former television news anchor and editor. The traditional ceremony took place at Karuziika Palace in Fort Portal, Tooro’s capital. Accounts describe a mock battle at the palace as part of the ritual transfer of the crown. Kijanangoma’s selection ended the immediate succession process, but the relatives’ claim about a possible heir remains unresolved in the available reports. Best Kemigisa, the queen mother, and Princess Ruth Komuntale have said Oyo Nyimba left a young son and a will naming him as successor. One account described the document as a purported 2022 will. The reports do not independently establish the will’s contents, the child’s identity or whether the child exists.