The Queen Mother of Tooro, Best Kemigisa, has revealed the heartbreaking prayer she made while in hospital as she pleaded with God to spare the life of her son, the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
Kemigisa said she asked God to take her instead of her son, believing that she was ready to bear the pain if it meant saving the Tooro monarch.
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“When I was in the hospital, I told God to take me first. I said, ‘God, please leave my son alone; take me first’,” the grieving Queen Mother revealed.
But her prayer was not answered in the way she had hoped.
King Oyo died aged 34, leaving the royal family and the people of Tooro mourning the loss of a monarch who had spent more than three decades on the throne.
‘He was closer to you than me?’
Kemigisa said the death left her struggling to understand why her son had been taken despite her desperate plea.
She questioned God over the decision, asking why her son had died before her.
“He decided to take him first. I said, ‘Why?’ Because he was closer to you than me?” she said.
The emotional account captures the depth of the bond between the Queen Mother and her only son, whose reign began when he was just three years old.
For more than 30 years, Kemigisa watched Oyo grow from a child monarch into an adult King and one of Uganda’s most prominent cultural leaders.
His death has therefore not only left a kingdom without its long-serving monarch, but has also left a mother grappling with the loss of her son.
A mother’s painful farewell
The Queen Mother’s revelation comes amid growing details about the final days and health struggles of King Oyo.
Princess Ruth Komuntale, the late King’s sister, recently revealed that Oyo had spent more than a year seeking medical evaluations in Uganda for different pains before he was eventually diagnosed with cancer.
According to Komuntale, the correct diagnosis came after the disease had already spread significantly and affected multiple organs.
The family kept details of the diagnosis private after Oyo reportedly cautioned them against telling anyone.
Now, Kemigisa’s account provides an intensely personal glimpse into the family’s anguish as they confronted the reality of the King’s illness.
For the Queen Mother, the loss was not simply that of a King.
It was the loss of her son — the child she had watched ascend the throne at the age of three and remain there until his death.
And as Tooro prepares to turn the page to a new chapter, Kemigisa’s heartbreaking question remains a poignant reflection of a mother struggling to understand the death of her child: “Why? Because he was closer to you than me?”