Omusuuga and Babiito Clan Members Loudly Celebrated Near My Son’s Body — Best Kemigisa on 9 Painful Days Inside Palace

Queen Mother Best Kemigisa has described the nine days she spent at Karuziika Palace following the death of her son, late Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, as an extraordinarily painful period, saying celebrations over the announcement of a new king took place only metres from where his body lay.

In a statement reflecting on the days between Oyo’s death and burial, Kemigisa said her only wish had been for her son to be buried peacefully and with dignity before the question of succession was addressed.

“Throughout this painful period, I had one simple wish: let us first bury my son peacefully and with dignity. Let a mother mourn her child. Let Tooro mourn its King,” she said.

Kemigisa said she expected the succession question to be handled only after the late Omukama had been laid to rest, allowing the royal family and the kingdom to address the matter “calmly, lawfully and respectfully.”

But, according to Kemigisa, events unfolded differently almost immediately after Oyo’s death.

“Unfortunately, that was not the experience we had,” she said.

Kemigisa said that only hours after the death of her son, a committee was established to select a new Omukama.

She said the succession process had already begun while Oyo’s body was still being transported back to Tooro.

“Only hours after my son’s death, a committee was started to choose a new king. While my son’s body was still making its journey home to Tooro, a new king was announced,” she said.

The Queen Mother said the developments continued after the family arrived at Karuziika Palace, even before Oyo’s burial.

According to Kemigisa, another announcement of a king was made shortly after the late Omukama’s Will was read to members of the Royal Family, the Musuga and representatives of the Babiito Clan.

“A couple of days after we reached Karuziika Palace, and with my son’s burial still ahead of us, another announcement of a second king was made immediately after the Will of King Oyo was read to members of the Royal Family, Musuga and representatives of the Babiito Clan,” she said.

It was the reaction that followed, however, that Kemigisa said caused her particular anguish as a mother.

She said loud celebrations broke out close to where Oyo’s body was lying.

“Loud celebrations took place only metres from where my son’s body lay,” she said in a statement seen by The Pearl Times.

Kemigisa described the experience as deeply painful, particularly while she was still mourning her son.

“As a mother, that was extraordinarily painful,” she said.

Oyo, who became Omukama of Tooro as a three-year-old child in 1995 following the death of his father, Omukama Patrick Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III, died aged 34 after a battle with cancer.

His death triggered a succession dispute within Tooro, with competing claims emerging over who should succeed him.

The dispute has involved members of the Babiito royal clan, the Royal Family and the kingdom’s traditional structures, with competing announcements concerning a successor made before and after Oyo’s burial.

Kemigisa’s account adds a deeply personal dimension to the succession dispute, focusing not only on the competing claims to the throne but also on the circumstances in which the royal family mourned Oyo during the nine days before his burial.

For Kemigisa, the immediate priority was mourning and laying her son to rest before beginning what she described as a necessary discussion about the future leadership of Tooro.

There have been reports that Baby Prince Oyo, the lake king’s son and one of the three proposed heirs, would jet in ahead of the coronation of Edward Kijanangoma as king. Read The Pearl Times’ fact check on these reports Here.

You can read about the tears, heartbreaks and grief suffered by Best Kemigisa over the past four decades, Bagaya’s biography, and take a look at the history of Tooro and its kings Here, There and Over There.