By Andrew Irumba Katusabe [Sankara]
Fort Portal: Tooro Queen Mother Best Kemigisa is officially on cloud 9 after the High Court in Fort Portal delivered a resounding ruling that effectively crushed resistance from sections of the Babiito clan over the custody and control of the late Omukama Patrick David Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III’s personal property.
In a ruling laden with heavy legal reasoning and finality delivered on November 27, 2025 seen by TheSpy, Hon. Justice Vincent Emmy Mugabo affirmed that the disputed properties belong to the personal estate of the late king and not the Tooro Kingdom, thereby cementing the Queen Mother’s status as the lawful administratrix of her husband’s estate.
This landmark decision ends decades of simmering palace intrigue, internal royal wrangles, and courtroom skirmishes that had pitted the Queen Mother against clan members who claimed the properties were royal estates held in trust for the wider Babiito lineage.
You’ve No Locus: Court Dismisses Clan Caveat As Legally Defective
The ruling arose from Miscellaneous Application No. 137 of 2025, in which the Queen Mother sought renewal of her Letters of Administration that were first granted in 1999, alongside leave to file an inventory and final accounts out of time.
Clan members, through a caveat, attempted to block the application, alleging misadministration, concealment, and unlawful alienation of estate property. However, the court was unpersuaded.
Justice Mugabo held that the caveators lacked locus standi, stressing that objections in succession matters can only be competently raised by beneficiaries or administrators of an estate.
“The objectors are neither beneficiaries nor administrators under Administration Cause No. DR MFP 15 of 1996. Their objection therefore collapses in law,” the judge ruled, effectively locking them out of the process.
Property Declared Personal, Not Kingdom Assets
In one of the most consequential findings, the court reaffirmed an earlier judgment by Retired Justice J.B.A. Katutsi, declaring that the properties in question were privately owned by the late Omukama Kaboyo III and not held in trust for the Tooro Kingdom.
The court emphasized that:
- Official kingdom estates were abolished in 1966.
- Titles registered in the name “Olimi III” did not convert private land into royal property.
- Certificates of succession issued by Tooro officials were merely memoranda, not instruments creating kingdom ownership.
The matter was declared res judicata, shutting the door on any fresh attempts to re-litigate ownership.
Customary Law No Match For Statute
Clan arguments rooted in Tooro custom— that a Nyinomukama cannot administer a king’s estate — were decisively rejected.
The court ruled that customary law cannot override statutory succession law, especially where the property is private. Justice Mugabo underscored that customs must conform to natural justice, equity, and good conscience, and no proven custom lawfully bars a widow from administering her husband’s personal estate.
Letters Of Administration Renewed
The court renewed the Queen Mother’s Letters of Administration for two more years and granted her leave to file:
- An inventory within six months
- Final accounts within one year
Importantly, the court noted that all lawful beneficiaries, including His Majesty King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, had consented to the renewal.
Queen Mother Triumphant
With this ruling, Queen Mother Best Kemigisa emerges legally vindicated, her authority reaffirmed, and her long-contested stewardship of the late king’s estate firmly entrenched in law.
Inside royal circles, the decision is being viewed as a total legal knockout, one that not only consolidates her position but also redraws the boundaries between royal tradition and modern law.
For now, the Queen Mother reigns supreme,victorious in court, unshaken in law, and firmly back in control.
