The late King of Tooro, Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, was planning to get married next year, according to a close childhood friend who says they never imagined they would run out of time.
Paul Charles Rukundo, who grew up with the late King and remained close to him into adulthood, revealed the plans in a televised interview while reflecting on the life of the young monarch.
“He knew he’d get married maybe sometime next year. We had plans. I was planning, you know, this man has to be in shape, all these things have to happen, so we thought we had time,” Rukundo said.
The revelation has offered a deeply personal glimpse into the life of a King who, to millions of people, was a cultural leader, but to those who grew up with him was simply a cousin, friend and companion.
Oyo died on August 27, 2026, aged 34, leaving behind a kingdom in mourning and friends who say they are struggling to come to terms with plans that will now never happen.
However, there is currently no reliable public confirmation of a formally recognised fiancée, nor has the Tooro Kingdom publicly identified a woman as Oyo’s prospective wife.
That distinction is important because marriage plans alone do not establish a person’s position within the traditional succession structure.
For now, the question of whether Oyo’s reported child is a legitimate heir, and what role the child’s mother may eventually play, remains a matter for the royal family and the Babiito succession structures to address.
The succession debate is carries on as Tooro prepares for another major moment , the return of its late King’s remains.
When Tooro Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomire Akiiki announced the death of the 34-year-old King on August 27, he also made a key revelation, that the late monarch had left behind a son who would provide continuity for the Tooro Crown.
Rwomire said the identity of the reported heir would be formally revealed at the appropriate time and in accordance with Tooro traditions and customs.
The announcement came as a surprise because Oyo had never publicly married or formally introduced a Queen Consort.
President Yoweri Museveni subsequently appeared to confirm Rwomire’s announcement.
In his message following the King’s death, Museveni said Queen Mother Best Kemigisa had informed him that Oyo had left behind a young heir whose identity would be made public at the appropriate time.
That appeared to settle the question at the political level. But within the royal family, the matter remains unresolved.
Charles Kayondo Kamurasi, the Musuuga and head of the Babiito royal clan from which Tooro kings trace their lineage, said the family had not been informed that Oyo had a biological child.
Kamurasi, who was also an uncle to the late King, questioned how the reported heir could be announced when members of the royal clan had not been informed. The disagreement has placed the Babiito clan at the centre of the succession question.
The Tooro Kingdom has said succession to the throne is a cultural matter under the authority and custodianship of the Office of the Musuuga. Following Oyo’s death, the Babiito royal clan constituted a 21-member committee of elders under the leadership of the Musuuga to oversee the succession process.
The committee’s mandate includes identifying the successor, formally announcing the successor to the relevant stakeholders and preparing the traditional and cultural ceremonies connected to the succession.
That means the reported young heir will have to be considered within the traditional structures governing the Tooro monarchy. The issue is particularly sensitive because Oyo died unmarried, at least publicly, and had been making plans for marriage.
Oyo’s body is expected to arrive in Uganda tomorrow, Thursday, September 3, at about 10am. Officials have said President Museveni will receive the remains at Entebbe International Airport before they are transported to Tooro by helicopter.
The arrival of the body will mark the beginning of the official nine-day mourning period leading to the burial.
From Entebbe, the remains are expected to be taken towards Tooro, with arrangements made for subjects to pay their final respects before the King is laid to rest at the Karambi Royal Tombs.
The return of Oyo’s body is expected to bring together government officials, members of the royal family, Babiito elders, Tooro subjects and dignitaries from Uganda and beyond.
But alongside the mourning and funeral preparations, the question of the crown remains.
For now, the kingdom waits for the arrival of its late King’s body and for the royal clan to begin resolving the mystery surrounding his successor.
