The 12th Omukama of Tooro Kingdom (1995 – 2025)
Fare Thee Well, Our Beloved King
Today, Tooro weeps. Uganda weeps. Africa weeps. The drums at Karuziika Palace are silent, the royal regalia lowered, for the lion that roared for 31 years has gone to rest.
His Majesty Rukirabasaija Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who ascended the ancient throne of Tooro at the tender age of three on 12th September 1995 after the death of his father Omukama Patrick Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III, has departed this world at only 34 years of age while receiving treatment in the United States. He was the world’s youngest reigning monarch, and he grew into one of the most visionary cultural leaders of our time.
What a journey! A toddler who could not even tie his own shoes was entrusted with a 180-year-old Kingdom. Under the wise regency of his mother Queen Best Kemigisa, his aunt Princess Elizabeth Bagaya, his uncle Prince Jimmy Mugenyi and his co-guardian H.E. President Yoweri Museveni, the little King was nurtured, educated at Aga Khan, Kabina and later the University of Winchester where he graduated in Business Management, to become a man of the people.
WHAT HE DID FOR TOORO IN 31 YEARS – AN UNMATCHED LEGACY:
1. He Made The Throne Relevant to The Common Person:
King Oyo understood that culture without development is empty. He refused to be just a ceremonial King. He famously said, “Being a king is not easy, sometimes I wish I could just be ordinary”, and he used that ordinariness to connect with his people. He transformed Empango from a mere cultural celebration into a platform for service delivery.
2. Youth Empowerment and Agriculture – His Heartbeat:
Youth was his number one agenda. In 2025, he launched a massive youth empowerment programme giving out coffee and cocoa seedlings and establishing incubation centres in Kyaka and Mwenge counties to teach practical skills in agriculture and entrepreneurship. His famous King Oyo Model Farm in Bugaaki, Kyenjojo District, became a university for farmers – with coffee, banana, mango, tomatoes, poultry, goats, cattle, dairy and fish farming all in one place. He taught Tooro that farming is not a punishment but a business: “Farming is a business. I am an active farmer.”
3. Champion of Health and Fight Against HIV/AIDS:
In 2016, UNAIDS appointed him Cultural Champion for HIV and AIDS among young people in Eastern and Southern Africa. He signed a 5-year MoU with the Ministry of Health to reduce maternal deaths, HIV and malnutrition, and every Empango week, he organized free medical camps where specialized doctors treated his subjects for free. His message was clear: “No child should be born with HIV in Tooro.
4. Environmental Conservation and Tourism:
King Oyo was Tooro’s greatest environmentalist. He led the protection of River Mpanga, the Rwenzori Mountains ecosystem, and Tooro’s crater lakes and forests. In 2022 he led the Rwenzori Royal Expedition to promote tourism and highlight climate change. He partnered with the United Nations and promoted Fort Portal as Uganda’s Tourism City. His vision directly led to the construction of a modern stadium and the expansion of the aerodrome in Fort Portal into an airport, for which he willingly offered Kingdom land.
5. Visionary Leadership – Vision 2045:
He did not rule for today only. He launched Tooro Kingdom Vision 2045, a 25-year development blueprint focusing on education, employment, agriculture, tourism, ICT, culture and poverty eradication. He envisioned a youth skills centre in every sub-county, an ICT Centre under the King Oyo Foundation, and secure land titles for his people to end illegal evictions.
6. Unity, Culture and Peace:
For 31 years, he was the symbol of Tooro’s identity, heritage, unity and continuity. He defended the culture of Batooro, promoted traditional music, dance and dress, while modernizing the institution. As the Kyabazinga of Busoga said, he was “one of the visionary traditional leaders of our time”.
Fare thee well, Rukirabasaija! You came as a child, you leave as a legend. You inherited an ancient stool at age three and returned it shining after 31 years of service.
The throne will continue, the rituals will continue, the Kingdom will continue, but the man who occupied the throne for almost 31 years will not.
Rest in perfect peace in the company of your ancestors, the great Babiito dynasty.
ATUULIZE RUKIRABASAIJA. ENKUBA ETUTIIRE.
Tribute by:
KAGENYI LUKKA
Deputy RCC Kampala City -Kawempe Division
The post KAGENYI LUKKA: A Royal Tribute To His Majesty Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV appeared first on Watchdog Uganda.