Ugandan goalkeeper rejects Toro throne as succession dispute erupts
A dispute over the successor to the throne has arisen in the Kingdom of Toro in western Uganda following the death of King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. The first candidate chosen by the royal succession committee, 36-year-old George Desmond Kamurasi, a goalkeeper for English amateur club SE Dons, declined the throne.
First candidate declines
As Euronews reports, Kamurasi is a cousin of the late monarch, as well as captain and goalkeeper of SE Dons from Crayford in southeast London. The team plays at the ninth tier of English football.
His candidacy was supported by 15 of the 18 committee members who took part in the vote; the committee consists of 21 people. Committee member Reverend Charles Oyo told ESPN that Kamurasi cited other commitments. The footballer himself has not publicly commented on his decision. Under Toro tradition, refusing the throne after an official selection is considered shameful.
Ugandan media reported that Kamurasi did not want to leave London, where he has family ties. He was also due to play in an FA Vase qualifying round on the same weekend as the king’s burial.
Family challenges new candidate
After Kamurasi’s refusal, the committee announced Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a news presenter and editor at Uganda’s state broadcaster UBC, as the successor. However, the late king’s closest relatives did not recognize the decision.
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The monarch’s sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, presented a will which, she said, the king had drawn up in 2022. The document names a “biological son” as the heir, but does not specify his name. According to the publication, information about such a son came as a surprise to many members of Toro’s elite, so he was not included in the vote.
The late king’s mother said that she and other members of the royal family had effectively been kept under house arrest. Queen Mother Best Kemigisa also called for the struggle for the throne to be postponed so that the family could mourn and bury King Oyo.
Farewell to the king
King Oyo died in the United States, where he was receiving cancer treatment. He was 34. He ascended the throne at the age of three and ruled Toro for 31 years; Guinness World Records recognized him as the world’s youngest reigning monarch.
Several thousand people gathered in Fort Portal to bid farewell to the monarch. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni called on the Batoro people to resolve the issue of the new king peacefully and legally, and to choose unity over division. In Uganda, traditional kingdoms have a predominantly cultural role and limited political powers.
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