Today in History: Toro king passes on
Aug 26, 2019
He was the fourth son and had five brothers and four sisters, of whom Princess Elizabeth Bagaya was the eldest.
On this day, August 26, 1995. A dark cloud covered the entire Toro Kingdom following the death of Omukama Patrick David Matthew Kaboyo Rwamuhokya Olimi III two years into his 'second' reign after the restoration of Kingdoms by the Museveni government.
Kaboyo had been crowned king in 1965 but lost the throne two years later when the kingdoms were abolished in 1967. In total, Kaboyo was king of Toro for only four years.
Who was Patrick Olimi Kaboyo?
Patrick David Matthew Rwamuhokya Olimi III Kaboyo II was born on September 9, 1945, to the king of Toro, Sir George David Matthew Kamurasi Rukidi III. His mother was Lady Byanjeru Kezia Bonabaana.
He was the fourth son and had five brothers and four sisters, of whom Princess Elizabeth Bagaya was the eldest. He went to school at Budo, Nyakasura School in Fort Portal, Sherborne School, Dorset, and Makerere University, Kampala. Kaboyo ascended to the throne upon the death of his father, on December 21, 1965, becoming the 12th Omukama of Toro.
He reigned briefly before monarchies were abolished on September 22, 1967. After a period of exile in Kenya, he came back and served as a minister-counselor at Uganda’s Embassy in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, between 1987 and 1990.
In 1987, he married Best Kemigisa, daughter of Prince Mujungu, of the Batuku clan, of Rwebisengo, Bundibugyo district. He was Uganda's Ambassador to Cuba, from 1990 to 1993.
In 1993, he returned to take up his throne after the Government restored monarchies and traditional rulers. He died on August 26, 1995, at the age of 50, leaving the throne to his three-year-old son, Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
His two daughters are Princess Ruth Nsemere Komuntale and Princess Celia Komukyeya, who died in 1997 at the age of four.
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The kings of Toro Olimi I: 1822-1865 Ruhaga: 1865-1866 Nyaika Kyebambe I: 1866-1871 and 1871-1872 Rukidi I: 1871 Olimi II: 1872-1875 Rukidi II: 1875-1875 Rububi Kyebambe II: 1875 and 1877-1879 Kakende Nyamuyonjo: 1875-1876 and 1879-1880 Katera: 1876-1877 Interregnum, reverted to Bunyoro: 1880-1891 Kyebambe III: 1891-1928 Rukidi III: 1929-1965 Olimi III: 1965-1967 No King: 1967-1993 (monarchy abolished) Kaboyo: 1993-1995 (monarchy reinstated) Oyo Rukidi IV : 1995-todate |
Tooro is one of the five traditional kingdoms located within the borders of Uganda. The current Omukama of Toro is King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Rukidi IV. The people native to the kingdom are the Batooro, and their language is Rutooro.
It was founded in 1830 when Omukama Kaboyo Olimi I, the eldest son of Omukama of Bunyoro Nyamutukura Kyebambe III of Bunyoro, seceded and established his own independent kingdom. Absorbed into Bunyoro-Kitara in 1876, it reasserted its independence in 1891.
As with Buganda, Bunyoro, and Busoga, Tooro's monarchy was abolished in 1967 by the Government of Uganda but was reinstated in 1993.