KAMPALA — President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has mourned the death of the King of Tooro, His Majesty Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who has died at the age of 34, describing his death as a major loss to Tooro and Uganda.
In a statement issued following the King’s death, President Museveni extended condolences to the Tooro Royal Family and the people of Uganda, saying the monarch had died at a young age after a life marked by personal tragedy.
“It is with a lot of sadness that, on behalf of all Ugandans, Maama Janet and myself, I extend our most heartfelt condolences to the Royal Family of Tooro and to all Ugandans on account of the death of the prominent Muzzukulu, His Highness Oyo, the King of Tooro at such a young age of 34,” Museveni said.
The President reflected on the King’s early life, noting that Oyo had been orphaned while still young and had now died at an age when, he said, the monarch was showing potential to contribute to the development of the Tooro Kingdom.
“How unfair life can be!! He was orphaned while still young and he has died young,” Museveni said.
He described the King’s death as a loss to both the kingdom and the country. “In the short life on earth, he had shown that he had potential of working well with the Central and Local Governments to develop Tooro. What a loss to Tooro and Uganda,” he said.
Museveni said the government had been involved in supporting the King and the Royal Family after learning of his illness.
According to the President, months before Oyo’s death, Queen Mother Best Kemigisa informed him that the King had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.
“Some months back, Her Royal Highness Kemigisa, Nyinomukama, came to tell me that the Muzzukulu Oyo had cancer that was very aggressive,” Museveni said.
He said the government supported the Royal Family in seeking treatment abroad, first in Germany and later in the United States, where the King died. “The Government supported them to go to Germany and, then, the USA where he died,” he said.
Museveni also revealed that the King left behind a young son who is expected to become his heir.
The President said he had been informed by Kemigisa during a telephone conversation that the child would be introduced to the public at an appropriate time.
“Fortunately, in a telephone call, Her Royal Highness Kemigisa told me that H.H. Oyo left a young boy heir that will be introduced to the public at the right time,” Museveni said.
The announcement places the question of succession at the centre of the next chapter for the Tooro Kingdom, one of Uganda’s traditional institutions restored under the 1993 constitutional reforms.
Museveni also used the occasion to commend Oyo for his relationship with the central government, saying the King had avoided using the cultural institution to advance sectarian interests.
“H.H. Oyo worked well with the Central Government, thereby avoiding the mistake of trying to use the Cultural Institutions that were restored by the NRM to promote sectarianism,” he said.
He urged other cultural leaders to recognise the importance of maintaining similar relations. “It would be good if all the Cultural leaders understood the importance of this,” Museveni said.
Three days of national mourning
Museveni directed that King Oyo be accorded an official burial and ordered national flags to fly at half-mast for three days.
The mourning period will cover the day before the burial, the day of the burial and the day after the burial. “I direct that H.H. Oyo be given an official burial and, for three days, all the flags fly at half-mast,” Museveni said.
The President concluded his message by wishing the late King eternal peace. “May his soul rest in eternal peace,” he said.
King Oyo, who ascended the Tooro throne as a child following the death of his father, King Patrick Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III, became one of Uganda’s most prominent traditional leaders.
His death now opens a new chapter for the Tooro Kingdom, with the future of the institution expected to revolve around the young heir identified by the Royal Family.
For a monarch who inherited the throne as a child and spent much of his life under the weight of history, identity and expectations, Oyo’s reign has ended far earlier than anyone anticipated.
The immediate question is no longer how long he would reign, but how the institution he leaves behind will navigate succession, continuity and the future of Tooro.