Funeral Programme: King Oyo’s Body To Be Received By Museveni At Airport On Thursday

By Our Reporter

The body of the late Tooro King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV is expected to arrive in Uganda on Thursday this week as the government and the Tooro Kingdom intensify preparations for his funeral.

The tentative programme was announced on Monday by Yunus Kakande, Deputy Chairperson of the government-appointed King Oyo Funeral Committee, who briefed journalists on the latest arrangements for the return of the fallen monarch.

According to Kakande, the King’s body is expected to arrive from Nairobi at around 10:00am on Thursday, provided there are no changes to the current arrangements.

“The President will receive the body in person and pay his tributes to the King before the royal family and the people of Tooro,” Kakande said.

Following the official reception, the body is expected to be airlifted by helicopter to Kyegegwa, marking the point where the official journey into Tooro Kingdom will begin.

Kakande said the body will then be placed on a carriage for a ceremonial journey to Fort Portal, allowing Tooro subjects along the route an opportunity to pay their last respects.

“The body will then be airlifted by helicopter and taken to Kyegegwa where the Kingdom of Tooro begins. From there it will be placed in a carriage and ridden all along the way, with subjects having a glance at the body up to Fort Portal,” he said.

Nine Days Of Mourning At Karuzika

Upon arrival in Fort Portal, the body will be taken to Karuzika Palace, the traditional seat of the Tooro Kingdom, where it will lie in state during nine days of mourning.

According to the tentative programme, the King will thereafter be laid to rest at his ancestral burial ground following the completion of the official mourning period and cultural funeral rites.

The arrangements come as a sombre atmosphere continues to surround the late King’s residence in Buziga, Kampala, where mourners have been arriving to convey their condolences to the royal family.

Flags at the residence have been lowered to half-mast in honour of the late Omukama, who died on Thursday evening at the age of 34.

Tooro Leadership Holds Consultations

Amid the preparations, Tooro Kingdom Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki and his deputy, Henry Basaliza Mutegeki, held a closed-door meeting at the late King’s Buziga residence on Monday.

The meeting lasted nearly one and a half hours as kingdom officials continued consultations on the funeral and repatriation arrangements.

The Tooro Kingdom leadership is expected to provide further details on the programme as preparations advance and the final arrangements are confirmed.

The death of King Oyo has triggered widespread mourning across Tooro and Uganda, with cultural, political and community leaders paying tribute to the monarch.

King Oyo ascended the Tooro throne in 1995 at the age of three, following the death of his father, and went on to reign for more than three decades.

His return to Uganda on Thursday is expected to mark the beginning of a major period of mourning in Tooro, culminating in his burial at the ancestral grounds after the nine-day mourning period at Karuzika Palace.

The government and Tooro Kingdom have urged the public to follow official communication regarding the funeral programme as preparations continue.