The controversy over who should succeed the late Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV has taken a fresh legal twist after the Attorney General Sam Mayanja advised President Museveni that the late king’s Will should be followed in determining his successor.
In a September 12th legal opinion to the president, Mayanja says the validity of the Will could only be challenged before a court of law amid a dispute between members of the royal family and a section of the Tooro elders from the Babiito clan over the identity of the next king.
Under Tooro tradition, nine coffee beans are traditionally thrown into the grave of a deceased king by his successor as part of the rituals confirming the succession.
“King Oyo’s Will should be followed. Given the dispute surrounding succession, the ceremony of throwing coffee beans in the grave should be suspended pending determination of the succession question”, he said.
The legal opinion comes just days after a 21-member committee led by the head of Babiito clan, Omusuuga Charles Kamurasi declared veteran journalists Prince Edward Rukidi Kiijanangoma the new Omukama of Tooro.
The dispute has put the royal family and the clan-led succession committee on a collision course with each side advancing a different interpretation of Tooro customs on succession.
By Anthony Wesaka & Mike Sebalu
