KAMPALA, Uganda — The Prime Minister of Tooro Kingdom, Rt. Hon. Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki, has postponed the Rukurato Orukuru Orw’Ensanju (Supreme Council) meeting that was scheduled for Tuesday, September 1, citing the urgent need to coordinate the return and interment of the late Omukama.
In a statement issued early Tuesday, the Prime Minister informed council members that the sitting had been called off until further notice. A new date will be communicated by his office at the appropriate time.
He said he was in Kampala engaging government officials and other authorities on arrangements to repatriate the remains of His Majesty King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
“At this solemn moment, there can be no greater priority for the Kingdom than bringing our King home and laying him to rest with the dignity, honour and respect befitting His Majesty,” the statement read.
The Prime Minister directed that all unnecessary kingdom meetings, debates and activities be set aside so they do not distract from this responsibility. He called on the people of Tooro, leaders and institutions to exercise restraint, avoid disagreements and speculation, and respect the dignity of the late monarch.
Other kingdom matters, he said, would be addressed at a later time.
King Oyo, who ascended the throne in 1995 at the age of three and became one of the world’s youngest reigning monarchs, died on the evening of August 27, 2026, at the age of 34 while receiving medical treatment in the United States.
The official announcement by the Prime Minister stated that the continuity of the Crown was assured because the King had left behind a prince as heir, whose identity would be revealed in accordance with Tooro traditions. President Yoweri Museveni later said Queen Mother Best Kemigisa had informed him of the existence of a young boy heir.
Those claims have been met with skepticism from senior members of the Babiito royal clan. Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi, head of the clan, has publicly stated that the royal family had no prior knowledge of a biological child of the late King and that the Prime Minister lacked the authority to make such an announcement.
Clan elders have indicated that if no clear heir is confirmed, succession may revert to the lineage of Omukama Rukidi III. A 21 member committee of Babiito elders, chaired by Kamurasi, has been formed to identify a successor, formally announce him and oversee the associated cultural ceremonies. The committee’s work follows a meeting at Karuziika Palace on August 28.
Traditional protocol places succession under the custodianship of the Office of the Musuuga and the Babiito clan. Official nine day mourning is scheduled to begin only after the King’s body arrives at Karuziika Palace.
The remains are expected in Uganda on Thursday this week, with government involvement in the reception and subsequent rites. Burial is planned at the royal tombs in Karambi after the mourning period.
The postponement of the Rukurato sitting and the Prime Minister’s appeal for unity come as the kingdom balances funeral preparations with unresolved questions over the next occupant of the throne. Kingdom officials have not set a public timetable for naming a successor.
