Tooro Royal Family Drama as Princess Komuntale Rejects King-Elect

Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1227 EAT on Thursday 10 2026

The succession dispute in Tooro has deepened after Princess Ruth Nsemere Komuntale publicly rejected the selection of Prince Desmond Kijanangoma as the kingdom’s next monarch.

Kijanangoma was on Wednesday announced as the king-elect, succeeding the late Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who is due to be buried this Saturday.

However, Komuntale has challenged the decision, insisting that Oyo left a will naming his preferred successor and a second choice in the event that the first was unable to ascend to the throne.

According to Komuntale, Kijanangoma is not among the two successors identified by the late king. She argues that elders of the Babiito royal clan erred by bypassing Oyo’s lineage when selecting his successor.

The princess’s position has added a new layer to the succession dispute ahead of Oyo’s burial, raising questions over the process through which the next Omukama was selected.

The dispute comes amid the circulation of a purported will attributed to the late Tooro King George David Kamurasi Rukidi III, although its authenticity has not been independently verified.

The document reportedly names four of Kamurasi’s 14 sons as possible successors to the Tooro throne.

Kamurasi, who died in 1965, is said to have identified Patrick David Matthew Kaboyo as his preferred successor. Kaboyo later became Omukama of Tooro and was the father of the late King Oyo.

Kaboyo died in 1995, paving the way for his three-year-old son, Oyo, to ascend the throne.

The claim subsequently triggered calls within the Babiito clan for the alleged heir to be formally presented for verification before the succession process could proceed.

The head of the Babiito royal clan, Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi, had earlier called for the alleged heir to be presented to the clan, stressing that the succession process must be guided by established Tooro cultural practices.

Komuntale’s latest rejection adds a new dimension to an already delicate succession process, as the kingdom prepares to bury Oyo while questions persist over who should succeed him on the Tooro throne.

-Observer

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