King Oyo’s Remains Return to Uganda on Friday as Tooro Kingdom, Nation Prepare Final Farewell

**Fort Portal/Entebbe** — The remains of the late Omukama of Tooro, Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, will touch down in Uganda on Friday, September 4, ushering in the final chapter of a nine-day mourning period that has gripped the kingdom and drawn condolences from across the country.

A revised funeral programme released by Tooro Kingdom on Wednesday confirmed that the arrival date has shifted from an earlier Thursday target, with the body now expected to land at Entebbe International Airport at approximately 10:00am, arriving via Nairobi.

President Yoweri Museveni is expected to personally receive the remains at Entebbe, where he will pay his last respects to the fallen monarch and convey condolences to the royal family and the people of Tooro before the body continues its journey home.

**A journey through Tooro**

From Entebbe, the King’s remains will be airlifted by helicopter to Kyegegwa District, marking the start of the procession into Tooro’s heartland. Richard Rwabuhinga, chairperson of the local organising committee, said the decision to route the body through Kyegegwa first was deliberate — giving as many of the King’s subjects as possible the chance to see him one final time.

“Our hope is that in this week that we have started, the King’s body will arrive at Entebbe International Airport and after that it will immediately be flown to Tooro,” Rwabuhinga said, ahead of the schedule change.

From Kyegegwa, the remains will be placed on an open carrier for a procession along the route to Karuziika Palace in Fort Portal City, the traditional seat of the Tooro Kingdom, allowing mourners lining the roadside to pay their last respects as the convoy passes.

**A reign that began at age three**

King Oyo died on August 27 at the age of 34, in the United States, where he had been receiving treatment for an aggressive form of cancer. His death brought to a close a reign of nearly 31 years — among the longest and most closely watched of any reigning monarch on the continent.

He ascended the Tooro throne in September 1995 at just three years old, following the death of his father, Omukama Patrick David Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III. He was formally crowned after reaching adulthood in 2010, going on to become one of Uganda’s most prominent cultural figures, associated with initiatives in education, health, tourism and youth empowerment both within Tooro and beyond.

Museveni has granted King Oyo a state-supported burial and directed that national flags fly at half-mast for three days — the day before the burial, the burial day itself, and the day after.

**Mourning and the road ahead**

Once the remains reach Karuziika Palace, the kingdom’s official nine-day mourning period, known as “okugaragara,” will formally begin. Tooro’s royal clan, the Babiito, had earlier clarified that despite days of public mourning already taking place since the King’s death was announced, the official count only starts once his body physically arrives at the palace.

The King will lie in state at Karuziika before being laid to rest at the Karambi Royal Tombs, alongside his forebears. An exact burial date has not yet been officially announced.

Attention is also turning to succession. A committee of Babiito elders has been formed to identify and formally announce King Oyo’s successor. Tooro Kingdom Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki had earlier indicated the King left behind a prince, though the clan’s head, Charles Kamurasi, later said the clan was not aware of a confirmed biological heir — leaving the matter to be settled through the kingdom’s traditional succession process.

As Friday approaches, preparations at Karuziika Palace and the Karambi Royal Tombs have intensified, with road grading, drainage improvements and compound clearing under way, supported by the UPDF Engineering Brigade, as the nation readies itself to receive its King one last time.