- The plane carrying the remains of Tooro King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV touched down at Entebbe International Airport on September 4
- President Museveni joined senior government officials, the Babiito clan and members of the royal family on the tarmac to receive the late king's body
- Emotional scenes unfolded at the airport as mourners gathered to welcome home one of Uganda's most prominent traditional rulers
Tears flowed at Entebbe International Airport on September 4 as a plane carrying the remains of Tooro King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV touched down on Ugandan soil, bringing to a close a journey that had left an entire kingdom in mourning.
President Yoweri Museveni was among those who stood on the tarmac to receive the body, joined by senior government officials, members of the royal family, representatives of the Babiito clan, and close friends of the late king. The gathering underscored the weight of the loss felt not just within the Tooro Kingdom but across Uganda as a whole.
A Kingdom in Grief
King Oyo was one of Africa's most recognised traditional rulers, widely known for ascending to the throne as a young child and reigning over the Tooro Kingdom in western Uganda for decades. His passing has drawn widespread mourning from Ugandans and royal observers across the continent.
The scenes at Entebbe were deeply emotional, with those present visibly overcome as the aircraft came to a halt and the process of receiving the king's remains began. The presence of the Babiito clan, the royal lineage to which Oyo belonged, added a deeply personal dimension to the reception ceremony.
The arrival marks the beginning of what is expected to be a period of formal mourning and burial arrangements befitting a king of his stature, with the Tooro Kingdom set to observe the customary rites associated with the passing of a reigning monarch.