Chief Prince Ruchunya Orders Bunyoro Premier Byakutaga to Apologize and Vacate

The leadership crisis within the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom has escalated after Chief Prince (Okwiri) Fred Mugenyi Ruchunya declared that time is officially up for Prime Minister (Omuhikirwa) Andrew Byakutaga and the current members of the Royal Commission.

Speaking to journalists in Hoima on Monday, Chief Prince Ruchunya announced that the kingdom’s ruling Babiito clan has already initiated a major leadership clean-up to replace officials whose contracts legally expired in June 2024.

He further demanded a public apology from Byakutaga and the commissioners for overstaying in their positions and creating a prolonged administrative standoff within the kingdom.

“They should apologise to the kingdom for staying in office for this long yet their contracts expired in June 2024,” Ruchunya declared, firmly insisting that the Premier and the Royal Commission no longer possess any legal or cultural mandate to govern.

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The administrative dispute in Uganda’s oldest kingdom has simmered for months. Byakutaga was appointed Prime Minister by Omukama Solomon Gafabusa Iguru I on January 15, 2018. While his original term concluded in October 2023, it was controversially extended until June 2024.

Since mid-2024, the ruling Babiito clan, led by Ruchunya, has vehemently rejected that extension, labeling it unlawful. The clan asserts that only the Omukama or the Babiito clan acting on his behalf in the event of his incapacity—holds the supreme authority to renew or terminate the Premier’s tenure.

Byakutaga, however, has fiercely defended his position, maintaining that his original appointment carries no fixed expiry date and that only the King himself has the power to relieve him of his duties. The standoff previously saw the Babiito clan order Byakutaga to vacate his office and attempt to install an interim Premier and cabinet when he refused to step down.

Inspiration from Tooro Kingdom’s Cultural Show of Strength

In making his declaration, Chief Prince Ruchunya drew direct comparisons to the neighboring Tooro Kingdom, pointing to the decisive role played by Tooro’s Chief Prince (Omusuuga) Charles Kamurasi during the recent mourning, burial, and succession of the late Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.

During the Tooro transition, Omusuuga Kamurasi took a visible and authoritative lead in guiding the kingdom through the crisis and officially pronouncing the new King, Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I.

Ruchunya stated that witnessing Tooro’s cultural protocols in action has awakened the people of Bunyoro to the immense constitutional and cultural weight vested in the office of the Chief Prince.

“Following what Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi did during the burial of Omukama Oyo, people in Bunyoro have now come to understand the powers that lie in the office of the chief prince,” Ruchunya emphasized.

With the Babiito clan now actively moving to replace the disputed leadership, all eyes remain on Hoima to see how the entrenched Prime Minister and the Royal Commission will respond to the Okwiri’s latest ultimatum.