Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Minister Frank Tumwebaze has appealed to motor-mouthed veteran journalist Andrew Mwenda to stop his public attacks and criticism of Tooro Queen Mother Best Kemigisa, saying the royal family deserves peace and privacy as it mourns the death of Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
Tumwebaze, who enjoyed a close relationship with the late King Oyo, made the appeal as Tooro prepared for the monarch’s burial at the Karambi Royal Tombs on Saturday, amid an increasingly bitter dispute over who should succeed him.
In a message posted on X, Tumwebaze directly addressed Mwenda, describing him as a ‘friend’ and also a ‘friend’ of the late king.
“Hi Comrade Andrew Mwenda, as your friend and also as a friend of our late King Oyo I appeal to you to consciously make a decision and keep quiet/ceasefire for now,” Tumwebaze wrote.
He added: “We owe this to our humble and gentle King. All other issues are secondary please. Debates can ensue thereafter.”
Tumwebaze’s intervention came as the succession controversy threatened to overshadow the final farewell to a king who spent more than three decades on the Tooro throne.
Oyo died in the United States on August 27 at the age of 34 after receiving treatment for cancer. He ascended the throne in 1995 at only three years old and became internationally known as the world’s youngest reigning monarch.
His death has now triggered one of the most serious crises to confront the Tooro royal establishment in decades.
Mwenda’s New Front
At the centre of the latest confrontation is Mwenda, a veteran journalist and prominent public commentator with longstanding links to Tooro’s royal family.
Mwenda has entered the succession debate aggressively, questioning the existence and eligibility of the reported son of the late king and defending the authority of the Royal Succession Committee.
In his latest intervention, Mwenda rejected Queen Kemigisa’s description of the succession committee as a “self-appointed group of clan members”, arguing that the Babiito had themselves convened after Oyo’s death and selected a 21-member Royal Succession Committee.
According to Mwenda, more than 100 Babiito princes and princesses attended the meeting at Karuziika on August 28, after which the committee began its work.
The committee eventually selected Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a journalist and UBC news anchor, as the new king.
But the decision immediately collided with the position of the late king’s immediate family.
Princess Ruth Komuntale, Oyo’s sister, has said her brother’s will provides for his biological son to succeed him.
The Queen Mother has also insisted that the will should be respected and has accused members of the royal clan of proceeding with the selection despite having been shown the document.
International reports have confirmed the central contradiction: the succession committee has selected Kijanangoma, while the Queen Mother and Princess Ruth say Oyo’s will provides for a son whose identity had not previously been publicly disclosed.
The Queen Mother’s Cry
The public disagreement has become particularly painful because it is unfolding while the royal family is still mourning.
Queen Kemigisa, the mother of Oyo, has appealed for dignity and peace, saying she is dealing with the death of her son while simultaneously confronting a succession process she believes has disregarded his wishes.
She has also complained about the deployment of security around Karuziika and the removal of royal guards.
Rather than taking sides on the succession question, the minister is asking those involved to temporarily lower the temperature and allow the kingdom to bury its monarch with dignity.
A Longer Royal Family Rift?
Mwenda’s intervention has nevertheless reopened questions among Tooro observers about his increasingly vocal role in royal affairs.
Critics argue that his public commentary has moved beyond ordinary journalism into an active intervention in a deeply sensitive family and cultural dispute.
His defenders, however, say he is entitled to scrutinise the succession process, particularly because he is a member of the wider royal family and believes the Babiito cultural institutions must be protected.
Mwenda has himself argued that his intervention is intended to defend Tooro’s cultural institutions rather than undermine the royal family.
The dispute is therefore not simply a clash between Mwenda and the Queen Mother. It has exposed a much deeper disagreement over who has the authority to determine the next Omukama.
The royal family points to Oyo’s alleged will. The Babiito succession machinery points to the traditional process through which a king is selected.
Activists Call For Restraint
Some voices outside the palace have also urged the protagonists to stop escalating the confrontation.
Governance commentator Godber Tumushabe, reacting to the controversy, questioned what he saw as a contradiction between defending state institutions and criticising a traditional institution.
He challenged Mwenda to respect Tooro’s cultural institutions rather than allowing the succession dispute to deepen divisions.
Other commentators have similarly urged the competing sides to put the late king’s funeral ahead of their differences.
Former presidential candidate Mubarak Munyagwa described Oyo as “a King of the world” while paying his respects, while government officials have repeatedly called for peace, unity and dignity during the mourning period. The appeal from Tumwebaze therefore comes at a particularly delicate moment.
‘Let Oyo Rest’
For many Batooro, the immediate concern is no longer simply who will occupy the throne.
It is whether King Oyo can be given the dignified farewell expected of a monarch whose reign began when he was only three years old.
The government has become increasingly involved in attempts to mediate the succession dispute before Saturday’s burial.
Reuters reported yesterday that government officials were holding last-minute discussions with the royal family and the Babiito clan in an attempt to resolve the impasse before the funeral.
The dispute is complicated by the fact that traditional rituals surrounding the burial require a successor to be in place.
This has put extraordinary pressure on the competing camps to reach an understanding.
For Tumwebaze, however, the immediate message is simple: bury Oyo first, debate later.
His appeal to Mwenda captures the anxiety gripping Tooro. “We owe this to our humble and gentle King,” Tumwebaze said. “All other issues are secondary.”
The minister’s intervention may not settle the succession battle, but it has put a moral question before the protagonists: Can the arguments over the throne wait long enough for a grieving kingdom to say goodbye to its king?
For now, the eyes of Uganda are on Karambi, where Tooro is preparing to lower King Oyo into his final resting place as the battle over his successor continues beyond the funeral.
Author Profile
- Mr. Stephen Kasozi Muwambi is a seasoned crime investigative writer, majoring in judicial-based stories. His two decades’ experience as a senior investigative journalist has made him one of the best to reckon on in Uganda. He can also be reached via [email protected]
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