The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has disputed claims that Tooro Royal Guards were withdrawn from the Royal Palace, saying the guards remain in place as the army provides additional security around the palace and surrounding areas.

The clarification comes after Tooro Queen Mother Best Kemigisa raised concerns about the security situation at the palace on Thursday, as tensions over the succession to the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV continue.

In a statement issued by Colonel Chris Magezi, Acting Director of Defence Public Information, the UPDF said it had not withdrawn the Tooro Royal Guards and that residents of the Royal Palace were not under lockdown or house arrest.

The army also said it was not involved in the succession process currently taking place within the Tooro Kingdom.

Instead, the UPDF said its leadership had decided to reinforce security at the palace because of the large number of people gathered for the ongoing mourning period, the significance of the event and security threats linked to the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to the UPDF, additional security personnel were deployed to support the Royal Guards and strengthen security around the palace. The army said movements were being closely monitored, with access-control measures including searches and checks introduced to help protect those at the palace and in surrounding areas.

The statement comes amid a wider dispute over who should succeed King Oyo, whose death on August 27 at the age of 34 has left the Tooro throne at the centre of a contentious succession process.

On September 9, the Babiito royal clan announced Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as the next King of Tooro following a selection and vetting process conducted by a 21-member succession committee. The committee developed criteria for assessing potential candidates from different generations of the royal family before settling on Kijanangoma.

The choice has, however, been challenged by members of the late king’s immediate family.

Queen Mother Best Kemigisa and Princess Ruth Komuntale have maintained that King Oyo left a will providing for his son to succeed him. The succession issue has consequently become a matter of competing claims about the late king’s wishes and the traditional process for identifying his successor. Reports indicate that the son had not previously been publicly identified, making his succession status one of the central issues in the dispute.

The disagreement has unfolded just days before King Oyo is due to be buried at the Karambi Royal Tombs in Fort Portal.

Oyo became internationally known after ascending the Tooro throne in 1995 at the age of three, making him the world’s youngest reigning monarch at the time. He remained on the throne for more than three decades before his death while receiving cancer treatment in the United States.

The UPDF's statement also addressed the presence of Commander Land Forces Lt Gen Kayanja Muhanga at the palace.

According to Colonel Magezi, Lt Gen Muhanga visited the palace to pay his last respects to the late King Oyo and to inspect ongoing UPDF projects at the Royal Tombs, including work on roads leading to the burial site and other rehabilitation works.

The UPDF said its Engineering Brigade had made good progress on the assigned projects and that the Commander Land Forces was confident the works would be ready for the official burial of the late king.

The military further expressed condolences to Queen Mother Kemigisa, the Royal Family, the Tooro Kingdom and people across Uganda and the region following the death of King Oyo.

The UPDF said it would continue working with other security agencies to provide the support required to maintain security, calm and the safety of mourners during the period of mourning.

As preparations continue for King Oyo’s burial, attention remains focused on maintaining calm during the funeral while the competing positions over the Tooro succession are considered through the kingdom’s traditional processes.