KAMPALA — Attorney General Dr Sam Mayanja has advised President Yoweri Museveni that the will of the late Tooro King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV should guide the succession to the kingdom’s throne, saying any challenge to the will’s validity can only be determined by a court of law.
In a three-page legal opinion dated September 12, 2026, Dr Mayanja said Uganda’s Constitution, the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act and the customs and traditions of the Batooro govern the process of determining a successor.
The opinion follows a dispute over the succession to the Tooro throne after King Oyo died on August 27, 2026, aged 34.
The Attorney General cited Article 246 of the Constitution, which provides for traditional or cultural leaders in accordance with the culture, customs, traditions, wishes and aspirations of the people concerned.
He also cited Section 4 of the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act, which provides that a person may be installed as a traditional or cultural leader where allegiance is derived from birth or descent in accordance with the customs and traditions of the people led.
“Clearly, the law recognises that, in ascending to the throne, allegiance principally is derived from birth and subsequently by descent,” Dr Mayanja wrote.
“It therefore follows that where there is a direct descendant of the King by birth, that person, in accordance with the King’s valid will, would ascend to the throne in accordance with the culture and customs of the Batooro people.”
Oyo’s will names biological son
Dr Mayanja referred to Article 10(1) of King Oyo’s will dated September 14, 2022, which states that if the King was survived by a son “lawfully recognised as my biological son,” that son would be his heir to the Tooro Kingdom.
The will further names Prince Komwiswa Yoweri, son of Omusuuga Charles, as an alternative successor if Oyo had no son able to succeed him, or if his son died, became permanently incapacitated or was otherwise unable to assume the throne.
The Attorney General said previous Ugandan court decisions concerning royal succession had demonstrated the importance attached to the will of a former king in determining a kingdom’s heir.
His opinion comes after the Babiito Royal Succession Committee selected Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as Oyo’s successor on September 9, following the earlier selection of Prince George Desmond Kamurasi, who later declined the position.
Kijanangoma was subsequently declared the successor during Oyo’s burial ceremonies at the Karambi Royal Tombs on September 12.
Succession dispute should go through elders, courts
Dr Mayanja said the Institution of Traditional and Cultural Leaders Act provides a mechanism for resolving disputes within traditional institutions.
Under Section 15(1), he said, conflicts within a traditional or cultural institution or community should first be determined by a council of elders, clan leaders or another representative body chosen and approved by the community according to its customs and traditions.
Where the dispute cannot be resolved through that mechanism, Section 15(2) provides for referral of the matter to court.
“It appears that there’s a dispute as to the contents and validity of the will which has not been resolved by the council of elders to the satisfaction of the community and all interested parties,” the Attorney General said.
“The dispute may only be resolved by a Court of Law.”
The opinion also notes that the 1999 Tooro Kingdom Constitution remains suspended.
According to Dr Mayanja, King Oyo suspended its observance in 2013, citing, among other reasons, provisions he considered inconsistent with Ugandan law. The suspension was upheld by the court in George Kusemererwa v King Oyo.
Although Oyo subsequently established a committee to review the constitution, the Attorney General said the review had not been completed by the time of the King’s death.
“As such the Constitution remains suspended,” he said.
Attorney General advises suspension of nine-bean ritual
Dr Mayanja also addressed the traditional ceremony in which a successor throws nine coffee beans into the deceased King’s grave, a ritual that traditionally confirms succession.
He recommended that the ceremony be suspended until the succession dispute is resolved.
“Given the dispute surrounding succession, the ceremony of throwing beans in the grave should be suspended pending the determination of the succession question,” he advised.
He noted that the delay would not be unprecedented, citing the burial of former Tooro King Patrick Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III, when the coffee-bean ceremony was reportedly conducted three months after his death and burial, after his successor had been identified.
However, Dr Mayanja said there was no legal obstacle to Oyo’s burial itself.
“Subject to the foregoing, the burial ceremony should proceed as there’s no legal impediment to the ceremony being conducted,” he said.
The Attorney General’s opinion was copied to the Solicitor General and the Commissioner Legal at State House.