By BAMUTURAKI MUSINGUZI
LIKE MANY BOYS HIS AGE, HE ENJOYS football and going to the beach, and counts chicken, chips and macaroni among his favourite foods. He grew up watching cartoons like Lion King, Batman and Spiderman. But Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, the titular king of the Toro, who turns 15 on April 16, is not taking his responsibilities to his close to one million subjects lightly.
The king, who goes to Kabira International School in Kampala, has dismissed critics who say he is too young to rule and called on his subjects to take action to improve the standards of living in the kingdom. He has appealed to the Batooro to have their children immunised against measles to guarantee them a healthy future.
He has also advised parents to stop abusing children because they are the foundation of the nation. I saw a picture in the newspapers of a boy who had been burnt by his mother for stealing Ush200 (0.1 US cents). It was terrible. Parents should not mistreat their children, he said in 2003.
In July that year, he launched the King Oyo Fund to raise money for the kingdoms strategic development plan for 2003-2010. So far, it has raised Ush30 million ($17,142) in cash and pledges. The plan will focus on promoting culture, as well as improving education, health and hygiene and preserving the environment.
And the Batooro, who revere their king they prostrate themselves before him during cultural functions have pledged to support his development efforts and fight HIV/Aids, among others projects. For instance, the Batooro in London, under the auspices of the Tooro Community Welfare and Development Association, have launched the King Oyo International Hospital Fund in the UK for the construction of a childrens hospital, with an donation of £2,000. The proposed King Oyo International Hospital, to be built in Kyenjojo District, requires some $8-10 million. The facility will serve as a referral hospital and also specialise in childrens diseases, mother-child care and HIV/Aids research.
King Oyo has certainly come a long way since he was captured on camera at a state function eight years ago playing with a toy instead of paying attention to official matters as he sat between President Yoweri Museveni and former South African President Nelson Mandela. KING OYO CAME TO THE LIMELIGHT ON September 12, 1995 when, as a kindergarten going three-and-a half-year-old, he succeeded his father, King Patrick Olimi Kaboyo, who died four days to his second anniversary as king of Tooro. He thus became the worlds youngest monarch as well as the 12th Toro monarch to head the 182-year-old kingdom, which covers some 78,000 square kilometres, and is home not only to the Tooro, but also to the Bamba, Banyabindi, Bakiga, Bafumbira and Bambuntu ethnic minorities.
But being a king does sometimes weigh heavily on Oyos young shoulders. In a recent interview with the German Press Agency, he gave the downside of being king. I dont like being a king because of the functions I have to attend. They are long and tiring. I miss out on the company of other children, especially after school, he said, much to the dismay of his mother, Queen Best Kemigisa Akiiki. I enjoy school although I dont have a best friend, because all the students I talk to are my friends. I dont feel like a king, I feel just like any ordinary student, he added.
And he enjoys adventure like other ordinary students. In October 2005, for instance, he went mountain climbing together with 16 schoolmates and reached the peak of the 4,300-metre high Mt Elgon. Queen Kemigisa is confident that he will be up to the task when he takes up his duties as king in 2010, when he turns 18. However, the king is still receiving instructions on his royal duties as he works at mastering Rutooro, the language of his subjects.
IN THE MEANTIME, OYOS ROYAL duties are carried out by three regents Prof Oswald Ndolereire, Isaaya Kalya and Zaveriyo Byabagambe. And among his guardians are President Yoweri Museveni, Libyas Col Muammar Gaddafi and Kabaka Ronald Mutebi of Buganda. Oyo appointed Col Gadaffi as a member of the Abajwarakondo (Defenders of the crown) during a 13-day visit to Libya in 2001. The Abajwarakondo are a group of men who are highly regarded by the Batooro, and whose members include President Museveni.
King Oyo has rubbed shoulders with other leaders, including fellow monarch King Mswati III of Swaziland. He has also made trips abroad to seek assistance for his kingdom.
For instance, in 2001, shortly after his 10th birthday, Oyo went on a two-week tour of the US to raise funds for the kingdoms development programmes and met his subjects living in Denver, Colorado. He was accompanied by his mother and his aunt, Princess Elizabeth Bagaya.
The young king showed remarkable confidence during the trip, in contrast to his behaviour at his 10th birthday party at the Muyenga Palace in Kampala, where he had come across as extremly shy. When it was time to dance, the King Oyo could not face nine-year-old Sharon Kirabo, who had been chosen to be his partner by the committee that organised the party.
After a quick glance at Kirabo, the king kept his gaze fixed to the ground, and his mother stepped in to do the foxtrot with him as a confident Kirabo danced nearby.
Oyo seems to have a particular passion for issues that affect children. Speaking at the closure of the two-week Safe Kids campaign organised by the Injury Control Centre Uganda and Safe Kids Uganda in Kampala on July 22, 2006, he appealed to the Government and non-governmental organisations to ensure that childrens safety is given serious consideration.
He said the government and NGOs involved in child survival and development should include prevention of injury in their programmes. He commended the government for reducing early childhood deaths through improved and widespread immunisation and nutrition.
And celebrating Martyrs Day at Namugongo on June 3, 2006, the king, together with Prime Minister Prof Apollo Nsibambi and Archbishop Luke Orombi, asked Ugandans to devote themselves to fighting corruption and to derive inspiration from the martyrs. He said Uganda needed upright leaders who would not engage in corruption. THIS MAY BE A NOBLE IDEA but the king is probably too young to understand the nature of politics, including in his kingdom.
Early last year, for example, the three regents accused the Queen Mother and the head of the royal family, Charles Kamurasi, of personalising matters relating to the kingdoms activities and hijacking their roles. The clash between the regents and royal family came out into the open during the debate over who would replace Steven Nyabongo Rwakijuma, the former prime minister (omuhikirwa) of Tooro.
WHEN THE REGENTS said they had appointed David Rusa to the post, Kemigisa and other members of the royal family protested. The regents defended their action, arguing that as long as the king was a minor, they were empowered by the kingdoms constitution to make decisions on his behalf.
The matter wound up in court, and after a protracted battle, Steven Irumba, who had the blessings of Kemigisa and the royal family, was sworn in as the 13th Premier Minister of Tooro on December 2, 2006, in Fort Portal.
The kingdom is a cultural institution and issues are not handled like in politics. There is a parliament whose role is to elect and dismiss servants, Kemigisa argued. The whole thing was wrong and I think their intention was to destroy the king and the kingdom, and that is what we resisted.
On March 25, 2005, it was resolved during an orukurato (parliamentary session) at the Mucwa Council Chambers in Fort Portal that the kingdom remain under the government because that would foster unity and development in the kingdom, unlike in the neighbouring Buganda kingdom, which has demanded a federal status.
The kingdom of Toro boasts some of Ugandas richest soils and produces a variety of cash crops including tea, coffee and cotton. It is also endowed with resources like copper, cobalt, petroleum, cement, salt, and sulfur.
It also has notable physical features like the Rwenzori mountain range and the great Western Rift Valley, as well as Lakes Albert (Mwitanzige), George and Edward. The region also has several rivers and hot springs, in addition to the Rwenzori and Semliki national parks.
But while his kingdom is well endowed in terms of resources, Oyo still has a difficult task ahead, especially without the necessary political and economic muscle.
