Queen Mother Best Kemigisa has spoken about the nine painful days between the death and burial of her son, the late Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, saying the period was one of the most difficult experiences of her life.Kemigisa said her only wish after Oyo’s death was for him to be mourned and buried peacefully and with dignity before any discussions about the succession of the Tooro throne began.
She said she was therefore deeply hurt when, according to her account, a committee to select a new Omukama was established only hours after Oyo’s death, while his body was still being transported back to Tooro.The Queen Mother further said that after a new king was announced, loud celebrations took place only metres from where her son’s body was lying at Karuziika Palace.
“Loud celebrations took place only metres from where my son’s body lay. It was painful,” Kemigisa said, describing the experience from the perspective of a mother still grieving her child.Oyo became Omukama of Tooro at the age of three in 1995 after the death of his father, Omukama Patrick Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III. He died aged 34 after battling cancer.Kemigisa’s account comes amid an ongoing dispute over the succession of the Tooro throne, with the Queen Mother maintaining that her son should first have been given a dignified farewell before the kingdom addressed the question of his successor.
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