The committee's first choice — a non-league goalkeeper from south-east London — declined, citing other responsibilities.
asserted
choice → decline → responsibilities
His replacement was then rejected by the late king's own family, who produced a 2022 will that the committee ignored.
asserted
committee → reject → that
A non-league goalkeeper from south-east London turned down the throne of Uganda's Tooro Kingdom last week, setting off a succession battle that erupted into open confrontation prior to King Oyo's funeral on Saturday.
George Desmond Kamurasi, 36, captain and goalkeeper of SE Dons — a club competing at the ninth tier of English football in Crayford — had been selected by a 21-member royal succession committee as the preferred candidate to succeed his cousin, King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
asserted
Kamurasi → turn → cousin
Fifteen of the 18 members who took part in the vote backed him.
asserted
who → take → him
He said no, citing other responsibilities, committee member Fr Charles Oyo told ESPN.
asserted
Oyo → say → ESPN
In Tooro tradition, refusing the throne after being formally selected is considered a disgrace.
asserted
refusing → refuse → throne
Kamurasi has not commented publicly on his decision.
asserted
Kamurasi → comment → decision
Reports in Ugandan media said he was reluctant to leave London — he has family relations in England and was due to play an FA Vase qualifying round the same weekend as Oyo's funeral.
asserted
he → say → funeral
The committee then turned to Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a news anchor and editor at Uganda's public broadcaster UBC, who was announced as successor earlier this week.
asserted
who → turn → successor
That decision has since been rejected by the late king's immediate family.
asserted
decision → reject → family
'Let us grieve'
asserted
us → let → ?
King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who ascended to the throne at the age of three and reigned over the Tooro Kingdom for 31 years, died recently at the age of 34 while receiving cancer treatment in the US.
asserted
who → ascend → US
Guinness World Records had recognised him as the world's youngest reigning monarch.
asserted
Records → recognise → monarch
Several thousand people gathered on Saturday in Uganda to pay final respects to the monarch, with President Yoweri Museveni urging unity.
"Once the matter of the new king of the Batoro is settled, we will be happy to work with him, just as we did with His Highness Oyo," he said in a statement read out during Saturday's ceremony at Saint John's Cathedral in the city of Fort Portal in western Uganda.
asserted
he → gather → Uganda
"I call on the Batoro to use peaceful and lawful means to resolve this issue and to favour unity over division."
asserted
I → call → division
The dispute fractured the royal family, with the late king's mother charging that she and other members of the royal family had been put under effective house arrest.
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she → fracture → arrest
The king's sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, accused "evil vultures" of conspiring against her and Queen Mother Best Kemigisa.
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sister → accuse → her
She produced a will, which she said the king drafted in 2022, designating "a biological son" as heir without naming him.
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king → produce → him
This came as a surprise to many in the Tooro elite, who had never heard of the son and did not include his name in the succession vote.
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who → come → vote
The Babiito royal committee, which traditionally presides over and determines matters relating to royal lineages, succession, and family affairs, defended its choice on Saturday.
asserted
which → preside → Saturday
"We have done everything in observance of the culture and traditions of Tooro.
asserted
We → do → Tooro
We must all preserve peace and serenity," the head of the committee, Omusuuga Charles Karumasi, said.
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head → preserve → committee
The Queen Mother said in a statement that the succession battle undermined their ability to mourn the king’s death.
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battle → say → death
“I also appeal to those fighting over the throne: please, there will be time for all of that,” she said in a statement.
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she → appeal → statement
“Let us grieve and bury my son King Oyo.”
asserted
us → let → son
'One of those deaths one never heals from'
asserted
one → heal → deaths
Uganda is a republic but officially recognises four traditional kingdoms, banned after independence from British colonial rule by a republican president who said he wanted to unify the country, but they were restored in 1993.
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they → recognise → 1993
The kingdoms serve mainly as cultural institutions with limited political power.
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kingdoms → serve → power
Oyo once held the unofficial title of the world’s youngest king, a much-beloved figure even for world leaders introduced to him at national events, including South Africa’s Nelson Mandela.
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Oyo → hold → Mandela
Regents appointed by the kingdom guided Oyo until he came of age at 18.
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he → appoint → 18
The late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi befriended the Tooro royals as if they were part of his extended family.
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they → befriend → family
He made multiple trips to Uganda and supported Oyo and his mother for years before his death in October 2011.
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He → make → October
“This is one of those deaths, the Bob Marley kind, that one never heals from,” Timothy Kalyegira, a prominent analyst who is from Tooro, said in a eulogy posted on social platform X.
“Not Oyo, not that likeable young man, not at 34.
asserted
who → heal → 34
That’s what makes it so painful.”
asserted
it → ’ → ?
"He had a gift to make people laugh," his sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, said at the burial ceremony.
asserted
sister → have → ceremony
"He always knew how to brighten my day," she said.
asserted
she → know → day
