The Journalist King: Prince Edward Kijanangoma Named New Omukama of Tooro

FORT PORTAL — He read the news for Uganda. Now he is the news — and the king.

In a candlelit announcement at Karuziika Palace on Wednesday evening, Monsignor Isaiah Mayombo, the Vicar General of Fort Portal Diocese, rose and read aloud the resolution that will change the Tooro Kingdom forever. Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma — grandson of a former king, son of a royal prince, and until this evening a journalist at Uganda Broadcasting Corporation — had been named the new Omukama of Tooro.

The announcement came just thirteen days after King Oyo died in the United States. It came three days before his burial at the Karambi Royal Tombs. And it came at the end of one of the most contested succession processes in the Tooro Kingdom’s modern history.

**The Vote and the Resolution**

The 21-member Royal Succession Committee of the Babiito clan — constituted by Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi, the head of the royal clan, to identify Oyo’s successor — met, deliberated and delivered their verdict. Of 21 members, 19 signed the resolution in favour of Prince Edward Kijanangoma. The resolution was read at Karuziika Palace in the presence of Babiito clan elders and the full 21-member committee.

“The committee resolved that Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, son of the late Prince Christopher Paul Kijanangoma and grandson of the late Omukama George David Rukidi III, be enthroned as the new Omukama of Tooro,” Mayombo read. The enthronement, the resolution added, would be conducted in accordance with the traditions and customs of the Tooro Kingdom.

**Who Is Prince Edward Kijanangoma?**

He is, first, a member of the Babiito royal clan — the lineage from which Tooro kings are drawn. His royal credentials run deep. His grandfather was Omukama Sir George David Rukidi Kamurasi III — a king of Tooro in his own right. His father was the late Prince Christopher Paul Kijanangoma, a royal prince. Prince Edward is therefore not a distant relative summoned to the throne from the edges of the family tree — he is a direct descendant of a former Omukama, placed by lineage near the centre of the succession.

He is also, until tonight, a journalist. Prince Edward worked as a news anchor at Uganda Broadcasting Corporation — UBC — building a career in broadcast media while carrying a royal name. The juxtaposition is striking: the man chosen to lead one of Uganda’s most culturally significant kingdoms spent his working life reading stories to the nation. Now the nation will read stories about him.

His selection was confirmed by 19 of 21 committee members — a decisive majority that the clan’s leadership will present as a clear mandate, not a compromise.

**The Succession Dispute That Preceded This Moment**

Wednesday’s announcement was not reached without controversy. The succession process that followed King Oyo’s death on August 27 quickly became contentious, and for reasons that cut to the heart of how royal succession is understood in Tooro.

Central to the dispute were reports that King Oyo had left behind a biological son — a child who, under certain readings of Tooro succession customs, could potentially qualify as heir to the throne. The Babiito clan moved quickly to assert that this reported heir had not been formally presented to the clan for verification — a procedural step that the clan regards as essential before any succession claim can be recognised. The head of the Babiito clan, Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi, was unequivocal: succession was a cultural matter under the authority of the royal clan, not a matter for outsiders or premature announcement.

Within the succession committee’s own proceedings, competing candidates emerged. Prince George Desmond Kamurasi — a 36-year-old London-based footballer and coach, and a first cousin of the late King Oyo — was reported to have secured 15 votes at one stage before the committee’s deliberations evolved. The committee ultimately settled on Prince Edward Kijanangoma with the 19-of-21 resolution announced Wednesday.

Tooro Kingdom Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomushana Rwomiire drew criticism from clan leaders for reportedly speaking publicly about the late king’s child before the clan had verified the claim — a reminder of how jealously the Babiito guard their succession authority and how quickly commentary from outside the clan’s formal process can inflame royal tensions.

**A Kingdom in Transition — and a Burial Still to Come**

The announcement of Prince Edward Kijanangoma as the new Omukama-elect comes at a moment of double significance for Tooro. The kingdom is simultaneously burying one king and preparing to crown another.

King Oyo’s remains arrived at Entebbe International Airport on Thursday, September 4, and were airlifted to Chegewa Airstrip before a road procession brought him home to Karuziika Palace, where he has lain in state as subjects filed past to pay their respects. His burial is scheduled for Saturday, September 12 — the anniversary of his 1995 coronation — at the Karambi Royal Tombs, where the monarchs of Tooro rest.

Prince Edward Kijanangoma will, by the time that burial takes place, already be the named successor. When the last prayers are said for King Oyo at Karambi on Saturday, Tooro will not be without a king for long.

The enthronement date and programme have not yet been announced by the kingdom’s authorities. What was announced on Wednesday evening — in the candlelight of Karuziika Palace, read aloud by a monsignor, witnessed by 21 members of the royal clan — is that the throne has an heir.

The journalist from UBC is the next King of Tooro.

SOURCE DAILY MONITOR