Casket carrying remains of King Oyo.
Drama unfolded at Karambi Royal Tombs in Fort Portal on Saturday as mourners prepared to bury the late King of Tooro, King Oyo.
Tension began when Queen Mother Best Kemigisha and Princess Ruth Komuntale declined to leave the vehicle carrying the king’s body after it arrived at the burial grounds. The two reportedly wanted to participate in the burial ceremony.
Best Kemigisha
Princess Komuntale
Canary Mugume, an NBS TV journalist, reported that King Oyo had not been buried, according to sources inside the royal tombs. Queen Mother Best Kemigisha was reportedly blocked from burying her son, while witnesses said the casket was forcefully removed from the vehicle. The Queen Mother and Princess Komuntale were then locked inside the car.
According to Daily Monitor journalist Andrew Bagala, Gen. David Muhoozi Tumukunde, the deputy speaker and security agencies attempted to persuade the Queen Mother to leave the vehicle, but she refused to comply with their appeals.
The standoff lasted about one and a half hours, creating tension among mourners and members of the royal household gathered at the burial site.
King Oyo was eventually buried after President Yoweri Museveni intervened through Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa and Minister Gen. Tumukunde. The burial took place amid a heavy deployment of UPDF soldiers, while the Queen Mother and Princess Komuntale remained locked inside the vehicle.
The late king was given a seven-gun salute before his burial.
Bagala explained that Queen Mother Best wanted to bury her son herself, as she had done for her husband, and lower the coffee beans into his grave. However, she was reportedly told that the act was contrary to Tooro tradition and custom, and her request was overruled.
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