14 Sept 2026
Attorney General Sam Mayanja has reaffirmed his position that the government will not publish Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma in its National Gazette as King of Tooro until the dispute over the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV’s successor is resolved.
Mayanja says the Babiito clan elders’ declaration of Kijanangoma as king does not end the succession dispute because their decision remains contested.
The Babiito clan say they have decided, but even if you are the elders, if your decision does not effectively resolve the issue, the law says you must go to court,” Mayanja said.
It is the court that will direct [King Oyo’s] purported son to be brought forward. That is when the truth will come out,” he said.
In his opinion, Mayanja advised that King Oyo’s will should guide the succession unless its validity is successfully challenged in court.
The will provides that if King Oyo was survived by a lawfully recognised biological son, that son would become his heir. It provides for another successor if there is no son able to take the throne.
However, the Babiito elders proceeded with their succession process and selected Kijanangoma after their first choice, Prince George Desmond Kamurasi, declined the role.
Kijanangoma has since addressed the royal clan members as king and outlined plans for his reign, including scholarships, education projects, partnerships and efforts to unite the Babiito clan and the wider kingdom.
But speaking to Bukedde TV on Sunday, Mayanja said the central government will wait before formally recognising him.
Last week, Mayanja gave legal guidance to President Yoweri Museveni as disagreement over the Tooro throne intensified before and during King Oyo’s burial.
