TAKEAWAYS

• Rwomiire calls for calm before King Oyo’s burial.
• He urges all sides to respect the Will and proper succession processes.
• He appeals for Government support without choosing Tooro’s next King.

The Kingdom of Tooro is undergoing one of its most difficult moments, with only two days to the send-off of the late Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.

Amid the grief, competing positions over the succession to the Tooro throne have continued to emerge, creating uncertainty around the Kingdom’s next chapter.

The latest intervention has come from Tooro Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki, who has appealed to all sides to lower the temperature and allow the late King to be buried with dignity.

In an appeal for peace and unity, Rwomiire acknowledged the seriousness of the succession dispute, noting that one group has announced a new King while the late Omukama left a Will containing his expressed wishes regarding succession.

However, he questioned whether the current moment is appropriate for the competing positions to dominate public attention.

“Let us first bury our King,” Rwomiire said.

He argued that the Crown has survived generations and will continue to exist beyond the current dispute, warning against allowing the succession question to divide the Kingdom during a period of mourning.

“Nothing is so urgent that we must sacrifice the dignity of His Majesty’s final journey, the grief of the Royal Family, the unity of our people or the peace of our Kingdom to settle it now,” he said.

The Prime Minister said there will be time to examine the late King’s Will, consider Tooro customs and applicable law, and allow the appropriate institutions to determine the succession.

He cautioned against competing announcements and attempts to establish facts on the ground before the King’s burial.

Rwomiire also appealed to the Government of Uganda to provide guidance and support to ensure peace and order, stressing that this should not amount to Government choosing a King for Tooro.

“This is not a request for Government to choose a King for Tooro,” he said.

Instead, he called for respected elders, cultural leaders and other credible figures to help guide the Kingdom through an orderly process.

“History will remember not only how the succession question was resolved, but also how we behaved when our King died,” Rwomiire said.

For now, his message is simple: Tooro should mourn together, bury King Oyo with honour and confront the succession question afterwards with dignity, fairness and respect.