Tooro succession must follow the law – Justice Minister

What the report says

Uganda’s Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister, Norbert Mao, has said the succession of the next Tooro king must follow the law before the government can formally recognise and gazette the new monarch. In remarks reported by The Observer, Mao said the state would only publish the name of the king in the Uganda Gazette after any dispute has been resolved through the proper legal and traditional process.

He made the comments during a radio interview in Gulu city, where he described the disagreement around the Tooro throne as worrying and urged the rival groups to settle their differences within the established framework. The issue has drawn attention after the death of Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who died in the United States on August 27 and was later buried at the Karambi Royal Tombs in Fort Portal.

The succession row intensified after the Babiito royal clan named Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as the next king. However, some members of the royal family, including Queen Mother Best Kemigisa and Princess Ruth Komuntale Nsemere, rejected that choice and said the late king had left a will naming a different successor. The Observer’s report suggests the dispute remains unresolved, with official recognition dependent on how the competing claims are handled.