{"id":4078,"date":"2026-09-29T10:37:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T10:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/?p=4078"},"modified":"2026-09-29T10:37:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T10:37:18","slug":"tooros-new-king-takes-throne-amid-dispute-over-late-monarchs-heir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/29\/tooros-new-king-takes-throne-amid-dispute-over-late-monarchs-heir\/politics\/regional\/","title":{"rendered":"Tooro\u2019s new king takes throne amid dispute over late monarch\u2019s heir"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"605\" height=\"507\" src=\"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/images-3-9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4079\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/images-3-9.jpg 605w, https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/images-3-9-300x251.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prince Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I has been installed as the new king of Uganda\u2019s Tooro Kingdom, despite a dispute over whether the late King Oyo Nyimba left a son who should have inherited the throne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nyabongo, a former broadcaster and editor with Uganda Broadcasting Corporation, was chosen by elders of the Babiito royal clan after Oyo died on Aug. 27 aged 34. He was formally enthroned on Tuesday in Fort Portal as the 13th Omukama of Tooro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/hqdefault.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/hqdefault.jpg 480w, https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/hqdefault-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The succession has drawn opposition from Oyo\u2019s mother, Queen Mother Best Kemigisa, who says the late king\u2019s will identified a young son as his heir. She has said the child\u2019s identity would be disclosed at the appropriate time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The claim has raised questions among some members of the royal family and supporters of Oyo over the decision to install Nyabongo. Reports of a child described on social media as \u201cBaby Oyo\u201d have also circulated, although the succession institutions proceeded with Nyabongo\u2019s selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Babiito royal clan, which oversees the selection of the Tooro monarch, chose Nyabongo on Sept. 9. The kingdom\u2019s Supreme Council later endorsed the decision, completing the succession process before Tuesday\u2019s coronation. Uganda\u2019s government said the process followed the kingdom\u2019s recognised customs and traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nyabongo takes over a kingdom that Oyo led for 31 years after becoming monarch at the age of three. His childhood coronation attracted international attention and made him one of the world\u2019s best-known young monarchs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"493\" height=\"621\" src=\"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/images-6-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4081\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/images-6-3.jpg 493w, https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/images-6-3-238x300.jpg 238w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 493px) 100vw, 493px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new king has said he intends to promote unity in Tooro and has described royal status as a responsibility rather than an entitlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Uganda\u2019s traditional kingdoms were abolished after independence but restored in 1993. They have no constitutional political authority, although they remain influential cultural institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Tooro Kingdom has hundreds of thousands of followers and is one of the country\u2019s five recognised traditional kingdoms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prince Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I has been installed as the new king of Uganda\u2019s Tooro Kingdom, despite a dispute over whether the late King Oyo [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,53,41,35,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current_affairs","category-featured-stories","category-hot_topics","category-regional","category-top_stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4078"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4082,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4078\/revisions\/4082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}