Tooro Queen Mother Best Kemigisa has rejected the selection of Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as the new King of Tooro, accusing the 21-member succession committee of disregarding the purported will of the late King Oyo and an earlier agreement to suspend the succession process until after his burial. In a statement issued on Thursday, Kemigisa said the committee’s announcement of Kijanangoma contradicted the contents of Oyo’s purported will and an agreement reached during a meeting chaired by Maj Gen Henry Tumukunde, minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development. Kemigisa said the will was read at about 4 pm on Wednesday in the presence of members of the royal family and government officials, including Tumukunde. One of the provisions in the document concerning succession states: “I hereby declare and direct that if, at the date of my death, I am survived by a son lawfully recognized as my biological son, I appoint him as my heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Tooro as the case may be in accordance with Section 4 of the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act, 2011, the customs and traditions of Tooro Kingdom.” Kemigisa said the reading of the purported will was followed by an agreement to convene another meeting on Thursday to address the succession question. She said she was therefore disappointed that, while Oyo’s body was still lying in state, members of the select committee held a separate press conference and announced Kijanangoma as the new king. Kemigisa questioned the timing of the announcement, saying celebrations could have been held elsewhere rather than while her son was still lying in his casket. The Queen Mother called on all parties to suspend the dispute over the throne, saying there would be a proper time to address succession but that the immediate priority should be mourning and giving Oyo a dignified burial. She also appealed to the leadership of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and other relevant authorities to allow the royal family to mourn and bury their king in peace. Kemigisa further alleged that royal guards had been removed from Karuziika Palace and replaced with UPDF soldiers, a move she said had restricted mourners from accessing the palace to pay their respects. She also said she had neither been consulted nor involved in the succession process. Komuntale rejects selection King Oyo’s sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale Nsemere, earlier also rejected the announcement of Kijanangoma, joining her aunts, Princess Elizabeth Bagaya and Princess Margaret Komubaizi, in denouncing the selection. Komuntale said the royal family had not reached consensus with key members of the Babiito clan, including clan leader Charles Kamurasi, on the appointment of a new king. She said the family’s understanding was that the succession process would be put on hold until after Oyo’s burial. The Babiito clan, however, has defended the selection of Kijanangoma, maintaining that the traditional process should determine the next monarch. Moses Musinguzi, spokesperson for the Babiito clan, said even the existence of a son of the late king would not automatically make him king, arguing that the decision must take into account Babiito traditions and the wishes of the people of Tooro. The competing positions have deepened the succession dispute as Tooro prepares to bury King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV at the Karambi Royal Tombs in Fort Portal on Saturday. King Oyo died in the United States while receiving treatment, and preparations for his burial are continuing amid an increasingly public dispute over who should succeed him.The post Tooro Queen Mother denounces King-elect Kijanangoma appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.