News Anchor Named as King Rukidi IV’s Replacement Despite Late Monarch Having a Secret Son. Inside the Succession Dispute

Meredith KileMon, September 14, 2026 at 6:02 PM UTC

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King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV; Edward Rukidi KiijangomaCredit: ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty; UBC Television Uganda/YouTube -

King Rukidi IV’s successor has officially been named, despite reports that he had a son whom he named as heir

The Tooro kingdom leader was laid to rest on Sept. 12 after dying at age 34

News anchor Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a cousin of the late King, completed the ceremony at his funeral that marks the official handover of power in the Tooro kingdom

King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV has been laid to rest, but a dispute over succession continues.

A funeral service was held on Saturday, Sept. 12, for the late King of Tooro, a Bantu kingdom in western Uganda, after his death on Aug. 27 at 34 years old.

King Rukidi was the world’s youngest reigning monarch, taking the throne at just 3 years old after his father died. Following his own death, the Tooro kingdom faced a succession mystery, with leaders debating over whether or not the late King left behind an heir.

Tooro Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki and Yoweri Museveni, the president of Uganda, both claimed publicly that King Rukidi had a son, while The Daily Monitorreported that clan elders of the Tooro Kingdom said he died without leaving a known biological child.

A ceremony was held at King Rukidi’s funeral that traditionally identifies the successor. News anchor Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a cousin of the late King, cast nine coffee berries into his grave at the Karambi Royal Tombs. The act marks the formal handover of power in the Tooro kingdom, per The Guardian.

Stephen Kazimba Mugalu, Archbishop of Church of Uganda leads a requiem mass for the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV of Tooro on Sept. 12, 2026Credit: Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty

President Museveni initially claimed that the late King’s own mother, Best Kemigisa, was the one who confirmed that he had a son, saying she told him in a phone call that “H.H. Oyo left a young boy heir that will be introduced to the public at the right time.” However, The Guardian reports that supporters of Kijanangoma say the family has not been able to produce sufficient information about the purported heir.

According to the BBC, the late King’s sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, claims her brother named his son as heir in a will written in 2022, though his identity has never been disclosed.

“My brother did leave behind an heir to the throne, and that was very clearly stated,” she said, accusing those who announced Kijanangoma as the successor of inciting “confusion and turmoil” during her family’s mourning period.

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Princess Ruth Komuntale and Best Kemigisa, the Queen Mother, attend a requiem mass for the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV at St. John’s Cathedral on Sept. 12, 2026Credit: Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty

Charles Kayondo Kamurasi — the Omusuuga, or head of the Babiito royal clan, commonly known as the Abasuga — previously told The Daily Monitorthata 21-member committee of his clan elders had been assembled to assess the credibility of the successor claims and oversee the traditional process of identifying the next monarch from the kingdom’s existing princes.

“The King had no child. I don’t know about it because we have never been told that,” said Kamurasi. “As members of the royal clan, we shall have to sit and sort out that issue, because he did not leave a child. Whatever the prime minister is talking about, we as the clan [Babiito] do not know him.”

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However, the Queen Mother issued a public plea to President Museveni and the Ugandan military not to rush proceedings when it came to naming a successor for her son.

“I appeal to those fighting over the throne: please, there will be time for all of that,” she said. “Let us grieve and bury my son King Oyo.”

King Rukidi died in the United States, where he had reportedly been treated for cancer. Thousands gathered to welcome his body back to Uganda ahead of the funeral service at St. John’s Cathedral, where he had been baptized years earlier.

Over the course of his reign, the late King promoted causes including youth empowerment, education, climate conservation, health advocacy and HIV/AIDS awareness.

Princess Ruth spoke at his funeral, saying of her brother, “Although ‌he became king and carried responsibilities far beyond what most people ever experience, he never completely lost the young boy who loved to have fun.”

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”