Babiito order Bunyoro Kitara prime minister to vacate office

What the report says

The Babiito ruling clan of Bunyoro Kitara has ordered kingdom prime minister Andrew Byakutaga, also known as Omuhikirwa, to leave office within four weeks. According to The Observer, the ultimatum was announced by the chief prince, Eng Fred Mugenyi Rucunya, at his home in Hoima city’s Rukooge Cell. Rucunya said Byakutaga’s tenure had expired and that he should vacate by mid-October.

The dispute centers on competing claims over who has authority to appoint and remove officials in the kingdom. Byakutaga was appointed by Omukama Solomon Gafabusa Rukirabasaija Agutamba Iguru I in 2018. His term was later extended, but Rucunya argued that a further one-year extension granted by the royal commission in June 2024 was unlawful. The article says the kingdom has lacked a parliament and cabinet ministers since 2023 amid disagreements over administration.

Rucunya also accused Byakutaga of running the kingdom without a cabinet, lacking transparency, and mismanaging kingdom affairs. He threatened to mobilize subjects to force the premier out if he did not go voluntarily, and called for public apologies from both Byakutaga and the royal commission. Byakutaga declined to comment when contacted. The Observer’s report places the latest order within a longer-running succession and governance dispute that has periodically intensified since 2022.