Attorney General Sam Mayanja has suggested President Yoweri Museveni that the Will left by the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV ought to be adopted in figuring out his successor.
In a authorized opinion dated September 12 and addressed to the President, Mayanja mentioned the validity of the late king’s Will can solely be challenged in a courtroom of legislation.
“King Oyo’s Will ought to be adopted. Its validity can solely be challenged within the courts of legislation,” Mayanja suggested.
The recommendation comes amid an ongoing dispute inside the Tooro Kingdom over who ought to succeed King Oyo, with members of the royal household and a bit of elders from the Babiito Clan supporting completely different candidates.
Mayanja additionally suggested that the normal ritual by which the successor throws 9 espresso beans into the grave of the deceased king ought to be suspended till the succession dispute is resolved.
“Given the dispute surrounding succession, the ceremony of throwing beans within the grave ought to be suspended pending the dedication of the succession query,” he mentioned.
However, the Attorney General mentioned there isn’t a authorized obstacle to continuing with King Oyo’s burial.
He cited the burial of the late Kaboyo as precedent, noting that the coffee-bean ritual was performed three months after his demise, following the identification of his successor.
“This will not be with out precedent because it was accomplished earlier than the burial of the late Kaboyo, the place the ceremony of throwing the beans was performed three months following his demise and the burial and after the successor had been recognized,” Mayanja mentioned.
Why the authorized opinion?
The authorized opinion comes days after a 21-member committee led by the pinnacle of the Babiito Clan, Omusuuga Charles Kayondo Kamurasi, declared veteran journalist Prince Edward Rukidi Kiijanangoma as the brand new Omukama of Tooro.
The committee made the announcement on Wednesday night time and later repeated it at St John’s Cathedral on Saturday, sustaining that Prince Kiijanangoma had been chosen to succeed King Oyo.
The declaration, nevertheless, was rejected by members of the royal household, together with Queen Mother Best Kemigisa and Princesses Ruth Komuntale and Elizabeth Bagaya.
The royal household maintains that King Oyo left a Will naming his son as his most well-liked successor. The doc additionally names his cousin, Prince Komwiswa Yoweri, as the choice inheritor if his son is unable to imagine the throne.
“If on the time of my demise I’ve no son in a position to succeed me, or if my son dies earlier than he can assume the throne, or is in any other case unable to succeed or assume the duties and duties of the throne, then my cousin, Prince Komwiswa Yoweri shall be my inheritor and successor to the throne as Omukama of Tooro,” the Will dated September 14, 2022, states partially.
The dispute has now positioned the royal household and the clan-led succession committee at odds, with each side counting on completely different interpretations of Tooro customs and succession traditions.