A tense standoff lasting over two hours delayed the final interment of the late Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV at Karambi Royal Tombs on Saturday, 12 September 2026.

Sources familiar with the events say the disagreement centred on who would perform the critical traditional ritual of dropping nine coffee beans into the grave — a rite traditionally carried out by the person who is to become the next king, or by the Musuuga in the absence of a successor.

Queen Mother Best Kemigisa is reported to have initially refused to allow the burial to proceed when she saw that Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, the candidate selected by the Babiito succession committee, had been brought to perform the ritual. She insisted that her son would not be buried by him.

The standoff was eventually resolved after high-level intervention. Reports indicate that President Museveni engaged the Queen Mother through Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa and Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development Henry Tumukunde, after which the burial proceeded.

It remains unclear who ultimately performed the nine coffee beans ritual. While some earlier accounts suggested Kijanangoma carried it out, other circulating claims — including an alleged Memorandum of Understanding being shared on social media — suggest the Queen Mother had secured assurances that he would not do so.

The Independent (URN) reported that the burial eventually took place, though by the time of publication it was not independently confirmed who dropped the coffee beans. Kijanangoma was seen at the burial grounds.

The incident has added another layer to the already bitter succession dispute. The Babiito clan maintains that Kijanangoma is the legitimate successor, while the Queen Mother and Princess Ruth Komuntale continue to insist on the late King’s 2022 will, which names a biological son as the first heir.

Social media has been flooded with documents and competing narratives, including an alleged MOU that some claim the Queen Mother was enforcing at the tombs. The authenticity and full contents of any such agreement have not been independently verified by major media houses.

The events at Karambi underline that while the late King has been buried, the question of who rightfully sits on the Tooro throne remains highly contested.