Subjects of the Tooro Kingdom, alongside kingdom elders and community members in the diaspora, have gifted the traditional head of the Babiito royal clan (Omusuuga), Charles Kayondo Kamurasi Akiiki, a brand-new white Toyota Land Cruiser TX valued at Shs 180 million.
The vehicle, delivered with customized plates reading MUSUUGA 001 and decorated in Tooro's royal colors of blue, yellow, and white, was handed over to Kamurasi in recognition of his steadfast defense of ancient Tooro customs, governance structures, and succession procedures during the transition following the demise of King Oyo.
The gesture follows weeks of intense contention within the royal establishment.
Following the death of King Oyo in the United States on August 27, 2026, and his state burial on September 12, a dispute emerged over royal succession.
While Queen Mother Best Kemigisa and Princess Ruth Komuntale advocated for the enforcement of a written will left by King Oyo favoring his biological son, Musuuga Kamurasi and the Babiito Clan Council maintained that customary royal succession is vested solely in clan elders rather than testamentary documents.
Under Kamurasi’s leadership, the succession committee named Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as the 13th Omukama of Tooro under the regnal name Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I, a decision that was subsequently ratified by the kingdom’s supreme council, the Orukurato rw’Obukama bwa Tooro.
The presentation of the vehicle comes just days before the scheduled official coronation and traditional enthronement ceremony of King Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I, slated for Tuesday, September 29, 2026, at the Karuziika Palace in Fort Portal.
Representatives of the gifting committee noted that the gesture was intended to facilitate the Omusuuga's logistical movements as he oversees the extensive traditional coronation rites and unifies the kingdom ahead of the new monarch's reign.
