LAWRENCE KAZOOBA: Tooro’s Bitter Burial: When an MOU Met the Coffee Beans

What the report says

Watchdog Uganda reports that the burial of Tooro’s late Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV on 12 September turned into a succession dispute rather than a purely ceremonial farewell. The article says the ceremony, held at St John’s Cathedral and the Karambi Royal Tombs, was supposed to be protected by a government-brokered memorandum of understanding signed that same day by government representatives, Queen Mother Best Kemigisa, the Musuuga Charles Kamurasi and the Babiito clan.

According to the report, the agreement said no succession ritual, declaration or installation should take place at the tombs, and the Attorney General had advised that the traditional nine coffee beans ritual be suspended until the dispute was resolved. Despite that, the Musuuga reportedly announced Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as the new king during the funeral service, and Kijanangoma later performed the coffee beans ritual at the grave. The article says the Queen Mother was involved in a tense confrontation that delayed proceedings.

Watchdog Uganda says the government has not yet gazetted Kijanangoma, citing an unresolved question over whether the late king left a biological son mentioned in a 2022 will. The piece argues that the episode exposed the fragile position of Uganda’s restored kingdoms, where cultural succession, family claims and state institutions can collide. It adds that the outcome is still likely to be shaped by clan authority, possible court action and political decisions in Kampala.