Security has deployed heavily at the Tooro Kingdom administrative offices at Muchwa in Fort Portal City. Personnel from the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces and the Police were deployed around the premises. The Muchwa also houses the kingdom parliamentary chambers (Orukurato Orukuru Orwensanju).
The deployment followed an announcement by Tooro Kingdom Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki postponing the Supreme Council sitting that had been scheduled for Tuesday morning. Rwomiire said the meeting had been postponed until further notice.
He explained that he was in Kampala engaging government officials and other relevant authorities to coordinate arrangements for the return and interment of the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
However, despite the Prime Minister’s announcement, some members of the Supreme Council started gathering at Muchwa, intending to proceed with the sitting.
The members were led by the head of the ruling Babiito clan Omusuga Prince Charles Kamurasi. Moses Musinguzi the Babiito clan spokesperson told URN that the Prime Minister had no powers or authority to stop the Rukurato from sitting.
The members were however blocked from accessing the Rukurato chambers after security officers closed the doors. The members later held negotiations with the security personnel in an attempt to gain access to the chambers, but the negotiations yielded no breakthrough. They eventually left the premises without holding the sitting.
According to the traditions of Tooro when a king dies, the Rukurato sits and the burial program and arrangements are presented to it. It’s after this sitting that even the heir to the throne is also announced.
The standoff comes amid a deepening succession dispute following the death of King Oyo, with the Babiito royal clan having formed a 21-member committee to handle the process of selecting a new King.
Rwomiire has said the late King left an heir, while Omusuga Kamurasi said the royal clan is not aware of the reported son.
President Yoweri Museveni also said during his eulogy for King Oyo that Queen Mother Best Kemigisa had informed him by telephone that the late King had left a son. The King’s body is expected to arrive in Uganda on Thursday as preparations for his burial continue-Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
