Preparations are underway to repatriate the body of the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV from the United States, where he had been receiving medical treatment. His remains are expected to arrive at Entebbe International Airport and then be transported directly to Karuziika Royal Palace in Fort Portal. ALSO READ: Who was King Oyo, the late monarch of Uganda’s Tooro Kingdom An exact date for the burial has not yet been officially announced. The Tooro Kingdom has said his body will not be transferred to another facility and will remain at Karuziika Palace during the mourning period. King Oyo died on Thursday evening, August 27, at the age of 34. In a statement, President Yoweri Museveni said the King succumbed to cancer. Museveni has granted King Oyo an official state-supported burial, with the National Organising Committee working with the Tooro Kingdom on the funeral arrangements. The Kingdom has clarified that its official nine-day mourning period, known as “okugaragara”, will begin when the King’s body arrives at Karuziika Palace. Traditional rites and mourning practices are already being observed as the Kingdom awaits the arrival of the remains. The royal drum and other instruments of power have been turned upside down, and the Tooro anthem has been suspended. The rituals symbolise that the Kingdom is temporarily without a reigning monarch. The funeral will culminate at the Karambi Royal Tombs, where generations of Tooro kings have been laid to rest. National flags across Uganda will fly at half-mast for three days—the day before the burial, the day of the burial and the day after. A condolence book has been opened at Buziga Palace in Kampala for members of the public to pay their respects.
