Ugandan queen mother claims house arrest amid Tooro succession dispute
The mother of Uganda's late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV said on Thursday that she and other members of the royal family were being held against their will at the palace amid a dispute over his successor.
King Oyo, who became monarch of the Tooro Kingdom at the age of three and reigned for 31 years, died last month while receiving cancer treatment in the United States. He had been recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's youngest reigning monarch.
A selection committee from the Babiito royal clan announced on Wednesday that Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a UBC news anchor and cousin of the late king, had been chosen as his successor.
The decision was challenged by King Oyo's sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, who produced what she said was a 2022 will naming "a biological son" of the late king as heir. She did not identify the alleged son, whose existence reportedly came as a surprise to members of the Tooro elite.
The selection committee excluded the alleged son from consideration, while the dispute prompted public debate over the succession.
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On Thursday, Queen Mother Best Kemigisa said troops had removed the royal guards without notice and surrounded the palace.
"We cannot leave or receive people freely. We are under house arrest," she said.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
