The unexpected refusal of a London-based amateur footballer to become king has plunged Uganda's Tooro Kingdom into a succession crisis, overshadowing the funeral of the late monarch over the weekend.
George Desmond Kamurasi, 36, a goalkeeper and captain of SE Dons, a club playing in the ninth tier of English football in Crayford, south-east London, was selected by a 21-member royal succession committee as the preferred candidate to succeed his cousin, King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. Fifteen of the 18 members who voted backed him, but Kamurasi declined, citing other commitments, according to committee member Fr Charles Oyo.
In Tooro tradition, refusing the throne after formal selection is considered a disgrace. Kamurasi has not publicly explained his decision, though Ugandan media reports suggest he was reluctant to leave London, where he has family ties, and was due to play an FA Vase qualifying round on the same weekend as the funeral.
The committee then turned to Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a news anchor and editor at Uganda's public broadcaster UBC, who was announced as successor earlier this week. That choice has been rejected by the late king's immediate family, who have produced a will they say the king drafted in 2022, designating a biological son as heir without naming him.
A kingdom in mourning and dispute
King Oyo, who ascended to the throne at age three and reigned for 31 years, died at 34 while receiving cancer treatment in the United States. Guinness World Records had recognised him as the world's youngest reigning monarch. Several thousand people gathered on Saturday at Saint John's Cathedral in Fort Portal to pay their respects, with President Yoweri Museveni urging unity.
"Once the matter of the new king of the Batoro is settled, we will be happy to work with him, just as we did with His Highness Oyo," Museveni said in a statement read at the ceremony. "I call on the Batoro to use peaceful and lawful means to resolve this issue and to favour unity over division."
The dispute has fractured the royal family. The late king's mother, Queen Mother Best Kemigisa, charged that she and other royals had been placed under effective house arrest. His sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, accused "evil vultures" of conspiring against her and the Queen Mother. She produced the 2022 will, which came as a surprise to many in the Tooro elite, who had never heard of the son and did not include his name in the succession vote.
The Babiito royal committee, which traditionally oversees matters of royal lineage and succession, defended its choice. "We have done everything in observance of the culture and traditions of Tooro. We must all preserve peace and serenity," said the committee's head, Omusuuga Charles Karumasi.
The Queen Mother appealed for calm, saying the succession battle undermined the family's ability to mourn. "I also appeal to those fighting over the throne: please, there will be time for all of that," she said. "Let us grieve and bury my son King Oyo."
Uganda is a republic but officially recognises four traditional kingdoms, which were banned after independence and restored in 1993. These kingdoms serve mainly as cultural institutions with limited political power. Oyo was a beloved figure, even for world leaders; Nelson Mandela was among those who met him. Regents guided him until he came of age at 18. The late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi befriended the Tooro royals, making multiple trips to Uganda and supporting Oyo and his mother for years before his death in 2011.
"This is one of those deaths, the Bob Marley kind, that one never heals from," said Timothy Kalyegira, a prominent analyst from Tooro, in a eulogy on X. "Not Oyo, not that likeable young man, not at 34. That's what makes it so painful."
Princess Ruth Komuntale remembered her brother's warmth: "He had a gift to make people laugh. He always knew how to brighten my day."
The succession row echoes similar disputes elsewhere, such as Liechtenstein's recent move to end male-only succession, though the stakes here are cultural rather than political. As the Batoro await a resolution, the kingdom's future remains uncertain, with the committee and the royal family at odds over who should lead.
