President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, joined thousands of Batooro subjects and dignitaries in Fort Portal City to witness the crowning of Tooro Kingdom’s new monarch, King Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I.
The President’s physical presence at the ceremony held historic resonance, mirroring his attendance on September 12, 1995, when the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV was enthroned as a toddler. In a wide-ranging address, President Museveni paid moving tribute to the late King Oyo, expressed strong confidence in the newly crowned 56-year-old monarch, and delivered a firm charge to cultural leaders across Uganda to champion family structures, traditional marriage, and indigenous science.
“I want to salute the memory of King Oyo for the wonderful work he did,” President Museveni stated. “I was very sad because, a day after he was buried here, I was going through my documents, and I found a letter which he had written to me on June 15, 2026, when he was where he was. He was thanking me for a number of things, including appointing ministers from Tooro. So this means that by June, he was still writing letters, as if he was all right.”
Turning his attention to the new monarch—a veteran news anchor and sub-editor formerly with state broadcaster Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC)—President Museveni praised his professional background.
“I also congratulate His Highness Nyabongo I. I have been watching him on the news as a good newsreader in English. So, I am sure he will do a good job in this appointment,” the President said.
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Addressing critical societal challenges facing Western Uganda, President Museveni urged cultural institutions to take an active, leading role in promoting responsible family life and strengthening the institution of marriage as a defense against public health crises.
“I call upon our cultural leaders to thoroughly address the institution of marriage and promote responsible family life. We must go back to our traditional ways of conducting marriages, which provided clarity and helped maintain social order,” President Museveni noted. “We are facing serious challenges, including the prevalence of HIV in this part of the country and Western Uganda. Karamoja, on the other hand, has maintained strong cultural practices around marriage and has a lower prevalence.”
He also cautioned cultural institutions against adopting overly possessive attitudes toward their subjects, advocating instead for openness and national integration.
“My grown children shouldn’t be held back or kept around forever. Good parenting means encouraging them to venture out, build relationships, and find their place among fellow Ugandans,” President Museveni added. “Yet some cultural institutions act like possessive parents, saying, ‘Muri bantu bange, mutagenda hara!’ (‘You are my people; don’t go far.’) That is bad parenting—denying people meaningful relationships simply out of fear of losing control over them.”
Beyond family and health, the Head of State emphasized the urgent imperative to preserve pre-colonial African knowledge systems, languages, and indigenous technologies against extinction.
Drawing from his personal initiative in livestock conservation, President Museveni cited his effort to save the iconic Ankole long-horned cattle despite resistance from Western-trained scientists.
“We must also guard our language, culture, and indigenous science jealously. Our local knowledge is disappearing,” the President declared. “I have personally insisted on preserving the Ankole long-horned cattle, despite discouragement from some modern veterinary scientists. I sold some to President Ramaphosa, and now South Africans claim they are theirs! We must preserve our indigenous science, crafts, cultural practices, and heritage. These are important for our identity and our survival.”
Sacred Rituals Amidst a Royal Succession Dispute
The coronation of King Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I—who was chosen by a 21-member selection committee from the royal Babiito clan—brought an official end to weeks of intense anxiety following the passing of King Oyo on August 27 in the United States due to angiosarcoma at age 34.
The traditional coronation rituals commenced between midnight and 3:00 a.m. on Tuesday. King Nyabongo I walked to the historic Karuziika Royal Palace, where he participated in time-honored rituals, including a symbolic mock battle for the crown, the ceremonial slaughter of a bull, and the ceremonial sprinkling of a hen’s blood to cleanse and fortify the throne.
However, the coronation unfolded against a backdrop of internal family tension. King Oyo’s mother, Queen Best Kemigisa, alongside his sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, formally objected to the proceedings, alleging that the late king had left behind a written will naming an infant son as his legitimate successor.
Despite the Queen Mother’s objections, central government officials supported the Babiito clan’s choice. Charles Kayondo Kamurasi, the head of the royal Babiito clan and traditional king-maker, firmly dismissed the existence of a rival heir.
“The child they are claiming to be there is not known,” Kamurasi told reporters in Fort Portal, maintaining that the clan strictly followed long-standing Batooro customs and lineage protocols in enthroning Nyabongo I.
Jubilant Celebrations Across Fort Portal
Unfazed by courtly politics, the streets of Fort Portal City erupted in vibrant cultural celebration as traditional drummers and dancers clad in orange bark-cloth shawls welcomed the new monarch.
“Everyone in Fort Portal is happy because of this new king. We are preparing. Women are ironing their masuka. Men are ironing their kanzus,” shared Fort Portal resident Elizabeth Kengonze. “People are practicing how they will sing Amakondere. We are very happy and grateful because Tooro, as a culture, is being promoted and the young ones are now knowing and learning how the Tooro culture was.”
Following the completion of all spiritual and legal rites, the Prime Minister (Omuhikirwa) of Tooro Kingdom, Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki, issued an official message of loyalty and congratulations to the sovereign.
“Your Majesty King Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I, congratulations on your coronation as the King of Tooro. Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for our Kingdom,” Prime Minister Akiiki stated. “I pray that God grants Your Majesty wisdom, strength, humility, and good health to guide your people with fairness, compassion, and courage. May your reign bring unity, peace, progress, and prosperity to the people of Tooro. Omukama ahangirize.”
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