The Attorney General, Dr Sam Mayanja, has advised President Yoweri Museveni that the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV will should be followed in selecting the next Tooro Kingdom King.
In a legal opinion dated September 12th, Dr Mayanja notes that the country’s constitution, the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act and the customs and traditions of Tooro provide the legal framework for determining who succeeds a deceased king, in the courts of law.
“King Oyo’s will should be followed. Its validity can only be challenged in the courts of Law” he said.
Dr Mayanja told the President that there’s a dispute as to the contents and validity of the will, which has not been resolved by the council of elders or the authorities of the community and all interested parties, advising that the dispute may only be resolved by a court of law.
“According to Tooro kingdom culture and norms, at the burial of the king, 9 coffee beans are thrown in the grave of the King by his successor as confirmation of his Succession to the throne” he said.
He further noted that given the dispute surrounding succession, the ceremony of throwing beans in the grave should be suspended pending the determination of the succession question.
“This is not without precedence since it was done before the burial of Late Kaboyo, where the ceremony of the throwing of the beans was conducted three months following his death and burial and after the successor had been identified” he said.
He however noted that the burial ceremony should proceed as there’s no legal impediment to the ceremony being conducted.
Dr Mayanja’s letter comes amidst the announcement of Edward Kijanangoma Rukidi Nyabongo as the new King of Tooro.
The head of the Babiito clan, Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi maintained Kijanangoma’s election on Saturday during the funeral service of the late Oyo.
“I wish to inform Tooro and Uganda at large that Tooro has a new king. The council of the Babiito sat and elected Edward Rukidi Nyabwongo I,” Musuuga said.
He added, “Whatever we’ve done is in accordance with Ugandan law, and we have put our Tooro culture and norms into consideration. Let’s all maintain unity and always remember our culture. God is there”.
However Kijanangoma’s election by a 21 member committee has since been rejected by the royal family, and even Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi’s children, Prince Patrick Mpuuga and Prince Nyaika Solomon.
Sources who attended the burial intimated that the newly appointed Omukama of Tooro, King Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I, completed his first traditional ritual at the royal burial ground, marking another step at his installation as the next Tooro King following his cousin Oyo’s burial.
