A non-league football captain from south-east London has been selected as the preferred successor to the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV of Uganda’s Tooro Kingdom.
George Desmond Kamurasi, who captains the SE Dons in Bexleyheath, is now at the centre of a royal succession process that could see the goalkeeper become the next Omukama, or king, of Tooro.
The 36-year-old was reportedly backed by 15 of the 18 members present at a meeting of the 21-member Royal Succession Committee in Fort Portal on Friday, September 4. The committee was formed by the Babiito royal clan following King Oyo’s death in the United States on August 26.
Kamurasi is a member of the Tooro royal family and the son of Prince George Desmond “Jimmy” Mugenyi, who was the younger brother of King Oyo’s father, King Patrick David Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III.
His selection has not yet amounted to a formal installation as king. Tooro’s royal authorities have stressed that the next monarch will emerge through traditional rituals rather than a conventional public announcement or an electoral vote.
Moses Musinguzi, a spokesman for the Babiito clan, said the identity of the successor would become clear during the ceremonies surrounding King Oyo’s burial, scheduled for Saturday, September 12.
Among the rituals, the chosen prince is expected to cross Omusanga, a space in front of the main entrance to Karuziika Palace reserved for members of the royal family. The prince who completes that ceremony will be recognised as the new king, according to the Babiito clan.
The development has brought an extraordinary contrast between Kamurasi’s public life in Britain and his royal ancestry in western Uganda. On the football pitch, he is known as “Big G” and has been a long-standing presence in the SE Dons side, having also played as a goalkeeper in the non-league game.
The Tooro Kingdom has urged the public to rely on official information as the mourning period continues, amid competing claims and speculation over the succession. King Oyo, who became monarch at the age of three in 1995, is due to be buried at the Karambi Royal Tombs in Fort Portal.
