Police and military personnel have vacated the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom premises in Hoima after nearly two weeks of heightened deployment and surveillance following renewed leadership tensions within the Kingdom. Security was heavily deployed at the Kingdom headquarters on September 21, 2026, with anti-riot police and Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) personnel surrounding the Kingdom chambers, locally known as the Rukurato, and the entrance to the palace. The security personnel initially blocked access to the Rukurato, while others patrolled parts of the City.
According to police, the deployment was intended to prevent possible unrest and protect the Omukama, Kingdom employees and property, while maintaining peace in the area, following intelligence that some youth were being mobilised to demonstrate at the Kingdom headquarters. The heightened security followed a renewed leadership dispute between the Babiito, the ruling clan of the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom, and Kingdom Prime Minister Andrew Byakutaga over his continued occupation of the office.
The dispute escalated recently after the Babiito, through the Chief Prince, known as the Okwir, Eng. Fred Mugenyi Rucunya, gave Byakutaga an ultimatum to vacate office by mid-October 2026. Rucunya said Byakutaga was occupying the office illegally because his tenure had expired.
Byakutaga was appointed Prime Minister by Omukama Solomon Gafabusa Rukirabasaija Agutamba Iguru I on January 15, 2018. His initial term expired in October 2023 and was later extended to June 30, 2024. However, in a letter dated June 27, 2024, the Royal Commission granted him a further one-year extension.
Rucunya rejected the extension, arguing that the Royal Commission lacked the authority to extend the Prime Minister’s tenure. He also accused Byakutaga of running the Kingdom without a cabinet for several years and raised transparency, accountability and management issues.
Rucunya warned that if Byakutaga did not voluntarily leave office by mid-October, he would mobilise Kingdom subjects to storm the palace and force him out.
The leadership dispute dates back several years. In January 2022, the Babiito clan, led by the Okwir, suspended Byakutaga, accusing him of financial impropriety, mismanagement of Kingdom assets, destruction of cultural sites and sale of Kingdom land. Byakutaga denied the allegations and maintained that only the Omukama had the authority to appoint or dismiss Kingdom officials.
The Royal Commission chaired by Dr Fred Kabagambe subsequently reinstated him as Prime Minister in January 2022, reaffirming the Omukama’s authority over appointments. But in 2024, Rucunya moved to remove Byakutaga and appointed an interim administration headed by Dr Baltazar Kyamanywa Kasirivu Atwooki as Prime Minister. Other interim officials, including a speaker of the Orukurato and ministers, were also appointed.
The Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom has since remained without a substantive parliament and cabinet amid continuing disagreements over its administration and authority to make key appointments. A visit to the Kingdom premises on Friday morning found the area calm, with police no longer stationed there and businesses operating normally. A Kingdom official who spoke to URN on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak on behalf of the institution said police had vacated the area by Wednesday.
Julius Hakiza, the Albertine Region police spokesperson, confirmed that security personnel had withdrawn from the premises but said a surveillance team remained strategically deployed to monitor developments within the Kingdom. Hakiza warned members of the public against participating in unauthorised demonstrations, saying security forces would take appropriate action against anyone who violated the law. He advised anyone intending to hold a demonstration to follow the required procedures and notify the Uganda Police Force-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
