{"id":1878,"date":"2026-09-29T16:03:51","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T11:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=1878"},"modified":"2026-09-29T16:03:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T11:03:51","slug":"ex-tv-anchor-to-be-crowned-king-after-succession-dispute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=1878","title":{"rendered":"Ex-TV anchor to be crowned king after succession dispute"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Uganda\u2019s Tooro kingdom is preparing to crown Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma Nyabongo I as its new king, amid a succession dispute over whether the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV left behind a son who should have inherited the throne.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kijanangoma, 56, is a familiar figure in Uganda, having spent more than two decades as a broadcaster and editor at the state broadcaster, according to a BBC report.<\/p>\n

He was formally selected by a 21-member committee of the royal Babiito clan following the death of King Oyo, who died last month aged 34 after ruling Tooro for 31 years.<\/p>\n

Oyo became king in 1995 at the age of three after his father\u2019s death, becoming the world\u2019s youngest monarch at the time.<\/p>\n

Members of Oyo\u2019s family have said he left a young son and a will naming the child as his successor.<\/p>\n

However, the child has never been publicly identified and was not recognised by the succession committee, which selected Kijanangoma.<\/p>\n

Oyo\u2019s mother, Queen Best Kemigisa, has argued that her son\u2019s will should have been respected and criticised the decision to proceed with Kijanangoma\u2019s coronation.<\/p>\n

She said the boy, who is in the US, had been unable to return to Uganda because of tensions surrounding the succession.<\/p>\n

Tooro kingdom officials have defended the selection, saying it followed traditional procedures and that Oyo\u2019s alleged son had never been formally presented.<\/p>\n

Information Minister Charles Mwanguhya said the crown had therefore passed to another branch of the ruling Babiito clan.<\/p>\n

Kijanangoma and Oyo were cousins and both grandsons of King George David Matthew Kamurasi Rukidi III, who ruled Tooro from 1928 to 1965.<\/p>\n

Another candidate, Prince George Desmond Kamurasi, reportedly declined the throne because of other responsibilities.<\/p>\n

Kijanangoma has pledged to make the palace more accessible and focus on unity and development.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot work alone, I have to work with you,\u201d he said after being announced as king.<\/p>\n

Tooro is one of Uganda\u2019s four officially recognised traditional kingdoms.<\/p>\n

Although they have no formal political authority, the kingdoms retain considerable cultural influence and loyalty among their communities.<\/p>\n

The kingdoms were abolished in 1967 but restored by President Yoweri Museveni\u2019s government in the early 1990s.<\/p>\n

The government has backed Kijanangoma\u2019s selection, while Attorney-General Sam Mayanja said there was no formal complaint preventing the coronation. Museveni is expected to attend the ceremony.<\/p>\n

Kijanangoma was born in 1970 and grew up in Fort Portal before studying mass communication at Makerere University.<\/p>\n

He went on to work as a broadcaster in Uganda and Rwanda, saying he would use the contacts built during his journalism career to help his community.<\/p>\n

The coronation will include traditional ceremonies, a ceremonial walk to the royal palace, a mock fight and blessings by members of the Babiito clan before Kijanangoma is formally crowned.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Uganda\u2019s Tooro kingdom is preparing to crown Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma Nyabongo I as its new king, amid a succession dispute over whether the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV left behind a son who should have inherited the throne. Kijanangoma, 56, is a familiar figure in Uganda, having spent more than two decades as a broadcaster and editor at the state broadcaster, according to a BBC report. He was formally selected by a 21-member committee of the royal Babiito clan following the death of King Oyo, who…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1878\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}