Kamurasi said any decision on Rwomiire’s future in office will only be made after King Oyo is laid to rest, and will hinge on the Prime Minister’s own conduct
The head of the royal Babiito clan in Tooro Kingdom, Musuuga Charles Kamurasi has denied reports that he dismissed the Kingdom’s Prime Minister, Omuhikirwa Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire, insisting that the authority to remove the premier lies with whoever appointed him and not with the Musuuga
Rwomiire was appointed to the office by the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who died last month, triggering a succession crisis in the kingdom.
The Prime Minister’s continued tenure has since been thrown into question, with a meeting of clan heads on September 2, chaired by Kamurasi, resolving to remove him over what they described as interference in matters they consider purely cultural, including the handling of King Oyo’s funeral and succession arrangements.
That resolution has been widely reported as the Musuuga having fired the Prime Minister, a characterisation Kamurasi is now rejecting.
Kamurasi said any decision on Rwomiire’s future in office will only be made after King Oyo is laid to rest, and will hinge on the Prime Minister’s own conduct.
He was categorical that whatever the outcome, it will not amount to a dismissal in the way it has been characterised. “If it is decided that the Prime Minister retires, he will retire. The king does not fire, he retires,” Kamurasi said.
The remarks come amid weeks of tension between the Musuuga and the Prime Minister over the handling of the late King’s death, funeral preparations and the disputed identity of an heir.
Rwomiire has maintained that King Oyo left behind a son to succeed him, a claim Kamurasi and other Babiito clan elders have said they are not aware of.
As a commoner, the royals say that the Prime Minister has no powers to announce an heir to the throne.
Oyo will be laid to rest on September 12, 2026 at Karambi royal tombs in Fort Portal.
