Why he won’t be Omukama Nyabongo the first
So, Nyabongo will become his regnal name. Regnal names are the formal names used by a monarch or a pope during their time in power and in historical records. There are also ‘regnal numbers’, which are used to distinguish between rulers with the same regnal names.
Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma. (File)
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WHAT’S UP!
You can only be the first when there is a second, a third or even a fourth, I tried to explain to a colleague. She couldn’t understand it: if there can be a second and third and fourth, why can’t there be a first? There can, and there has been, again I explained. But usually after they have died or have relinquished whatever title they hold. She was not convinced, and I don’t really blame her.
The announcement that caused all the confusion came after the several acrimonious weeks about the Tooro succession, so it can be understood that very few people paid the details much attention. The Tooro Kingdom Supreme Council, Orukurato rw’ensanju, sitting in Fort Portal, announced that Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma will be the successor to the late Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. He would henceforth be known as Omukama Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I.
So, Nyabongo will become his regnal name. Regnal names are the formal names used by a monarch or a pope during their time in power and in historical records. There are also ‘regnal numbers’, which are used to distinguish between rulers with the same regnal names.
That is why the present king of Britain is Charles III, because there are two previous kings of England named Charles. But the first King Charles of England (1600-1649) was not known as Charles I when he was still alive. He only became Charles I when his son became King Charles II, 11 years after the first Charles lost his head at the climax of the English Civil War.
Roman Catholic popes also generally follow the same tradition. So, when Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope in March 2013 and chose the regnal name Francis, some media referred to him as Pope Francis I. But that was quickly corrected, and he thereafter became known as just Pope Francis. He died in April 2025, and until another pope chooses the name Francis, he will remain the late Pope Francis, with no number.
Incidentally, there have been 23 popes known as John, the most popular regnal name for popes. The last one, Pope John XX111 (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli), was head of the Catholic Church from October 1958 until his death on June 3, 1963. The second most common papal names are Gregory and Benedict. Forty-six popes had names that did not repeat, including Peter and Francis.
The most popular names for English kings are Edward and Henry, with eight. While only one English king was named Stephen and one named John. My colleague said that if Oyo was Rukidi IV, why couldn’t Nyabongo be the first? Because there have been three previous Omukama of Tooro named Rukidi. Rukidi I (1871), Rukidi II (1875), Rukidi III (1928 1965), and Rukidi IV 1995-2026.
There have been 10 Tooro Omukama names that have repeated: Olimi I, II, III. Rukidi I, II, III, IV.
In the same vein, there are only nine Kabakas of Buganda (out of the 36) with regnal numbers.
They are Chwa I (14th century), Suuna I ((1584 1614), Mutebi I (1674-1680), Ndugwa I (1740-1741), Suuna II (1832-1856), Muteesa I (1856–1884), Mwanga II (1884-1888 and 1889-1897), Daudi Chwa II (1897-1939), and Mutesa II (1939-1969). The current Kabaka is Mutebi II because another Mutebi was Kabaka before him. If Omulangira Ssemakokiro becomes Kabaka, he would become Ssemakokiro II. The first Ssemakokiro reigned between 1797 and 1814, but as of now he is not Ssemakokiro I.
Tooro has never had an Omukama named Nyabongo, so although Prince Edward Kijanangoma is in the process of being the first to be named Nyabongo, he will not have the regnal number I. That can only happen when he stops being the Omukama, and a subsequent one picks the regnal name Nyabongo. The new one would then be Nyabongo II, and Omukama Edward Kijjanangoma will be known in history as Nyabongo I.
Of course, Tooro could choose to ignore tradition and just go ahead and assign the regnal name Nyabongo I. Francis of France did it in 1515, and declared himself Francis I. But of the 42 French kings, only two were named Francis. So, maybe he put a jinx to it.
Or they could do what has been popularised by the TV show Game of Thrones, and refer to their new Omukama as ‘Nyabongo, First of his Name’.
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