Ebenezer Adurokiya, Reporting
KAMPALA, Uganda — Ron Kazooba Kawamara, cousin to the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru IV, has mourned the death of the Tooro monarch, describing the loss as difficult to comprehend after a lifetime spent watching the King grow from childhood into one of Uganda’s most prominent traditional rulers.
Kawamara, writing on his X account, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday, said he had struggled to find words to describe the death of a King whose life had been closely intertwined with his own from childhood.
King Oyo, born in 1992, ascended the throne at the age of three following the death of his father, King Patrick Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III. His coronation in 1995 made him one of the world’s youngest reigning monarchs.
For decades, the people of Tooro watched the young monarch grow from a child King into a respected ruler who carried the responsibilities of the Kingdom with dignity.
Kawamara said he personally witnessed that transformation, recalling how he watched Oyo learn to play football and basketball, ride bicycles, attend school, leave for university and eventually graduate.
“Year after year, I watched the boy become a man and the man grow into his Crown,” he recalled.
However, Kawamara said the circumstances surrounding Oyo’s death made the loss particularly painful because the family had been preparing for his wedding rather than his funeral.
He said the family had not believed the King would die and that, even on the day of his death, they were expecting him to be discharged from hospital and return home.
According to Kawamara, Oyo had continued discussing treatment options with doctors only days before his death, while also participating in the family’s daily prayer hour and making plans for the future.
He recalled the late monarch’s excitement about Arsenal’s improved squad and his anticipation of the year’s Empaango celebrations, saying these were signs that Oyo remained hopeful and focused on the future.
“He was still looking ahead. He was still hopeful. He was still living,” Kawamara said.
Describing the late King’s character, Kawamara said Oyo was a deeply devoted son of Tooro and Uganda who loved his family and maintained a special bond with children.
Above all, he said, Oyo loved God.
Kawamara remembered him as a humble and gentle servant-King who remained remarkably close to ordinary people despite his royal status.
He said Oyo knew the names of his farm workers and bodyguards and often remembered people he had encountered.
For Kawamara, the late monarch’s crown never distanced him from the people of Tooro. Rather, he said, it strengthened Oyo’s sense of responsibility towards them.
He also paid tribute to the Queen Mother, Akiiki, who had helped raise Oyo from childhood, saying she had watched him carry an extraordinary burden as a young King before growing into a gentleman and a great monarch.
The death of King Oyo marks the end of a remarkable chapter in the history of the Tooro Kingdom, which saw its monarch assume the throne as a three-year-old and grow into adulthood under the close attention of his people and family.
