Tooro covers lion sculptures in mourning ritual for King Oyo

Fort Portal, Uganda | URN | Lion sculptures across Tooro Kingdom have been covered in bark cloth as part of traditional mourning rites following the death of Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. The sculptures, including those at Karuzika Palace, the palace gate and other public places, have been draped in bark cloth to signify the absence of a reigning monarch.

The practice is part of traditional rites that began on Friday following the formal announcement of King Oyo’s death and the commencement of a nine-day mourning period. In Tooro tradition, the lion is a symbol of the King, who is traditionally referred to as “Entale ya Tooro”, meaning the Lion of Tooro.

Zebadayo Mwesige, a former Tooro Kingdom Minister of Culture and performer of traditional rites, said the covering of the sculptures signifies that the kingdom currently has no reigning monarch. “The sculptures have no significance at the moment because we have no King,” Mwesige said.

He said the lions will remain covered until a new King is selected and enthroned. Mwesige explained that the practice symbolises the absence of the monarch and the transition of authority pending the installation of a new King. The covering of the lion sculptures is among a series of traditional practices being observed during the nine-day mourning period for King Oyo, who died on Thursday evening in the United States, where he had been receiving treatment.

King Oyo was born on April 16, 1992, to the late Omukama Patrick David Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III and Queen Mother Best Kemigisa. He was crowned Omukama of Tooro on September 17, 1995, at the age of three, following the death of his father. At the time of his death, the kingdom was preparing to mark his 31st coronation anniversary on September 12.