Media personality and socialite Sheilah Gashumba has criticised the discussions surrounding the succession of Tooro Kingdom following the death of King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV.
Gashumba expressed concern that attention had quickly shifted from mourning the late monarch to debates over who should take over the throne, arguing that the development had come before King Oyo was laid to rest.
In a strongly worded social media post, Gashumba questioned the timing of the succession discussions, saying people appeared to have lost empathy at a time when the royal family and Tooro subjects were still grieving.
“People lost empathy for one another! It’s sickening! Someone isn’t even buried yet and you’re announcing another person as a King!!” she said.
The media personality said the focus should instead remain on sympathising with King Oyo’s family and those mourning his death.
She also highlighted the former monarch’s battle with cancer, arguing that his loved ones deserved time and space to grieve before public attention shifted to the future leadership of the kingdom.
“People are grieving and mourning and all you care about is tweeting about who should be King!! Such an unfair world with sick souls!!” Gashumba added.
Her remarks came after reports that a Royal Succession Committee had selected George Desmond Kamurasi as the preferred successor to King Oyo.
The 21-member committee reportedly met in Fort Portal on September 4, with 15 of the 18 members who attended voting in favour of Kamurasi. He is a member of the Babiito royal family and is linked to the royal lineage through his father, George Desmond “Jimmy” Mugenyi.
However, Kamurasi has not yet been formally enthroned as the new Omukama of Tooro. The kingdom's traditional succession process requires the late king to be buried before the successor is publicly announced and installed.
King Oyo is scheduled to be buried on September 12, 2026, with Tooro expected to remain in a period of mourning before the succession process proceeds.
Gashumba’s comments have added a public dimension to an already sensitive transition, as Tooro mourns a monarch who ascended the throne as a three-year-old and became one of the world's youngest reigning kings.