The Tooro Kingdom royal family has suffered another bereavement following the death of Prince David Kijanangoma Araali, who passed away on Tuesday morning at the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) in Mulago, Kampala.
Prince David, 55, succumbed to Stage Three throat cancer, an illness he had battled for more than a year. His passing was confirmed on Tuesday by Kingdom spokesperson Vincent Mugume and the assistant Omusuuga (head of the Babiito clan), Kato Rwakatale.
His demise comes just three days after the state burial of his first cousin, King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who was laid to rest on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at the Karambi Royal Tombs after succumbing to angiosarcoma in the United States.
Prince David was the elder brother of Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma (now recognized by the Babiito clan as Omukama Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I).
In April 2026, the royal family issued a public appeal for approximately Shs 700 million to facilitate specialized treatment in India after he underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy at Nakasero Hospital and the Uganda Cancer Institute.
A grandson of the late King Sir George David Matthew Kamurasi Rukidi III, Prince David was a central figure in Tooro Kingdom’s contemporary political history. In March 2015, he mounted a challenge against King Oyo’s administration, publicly accusing the monarch of absenteeism and criticizing the influence of the Queen Mother, Best Kemigisa, over palace affairs.
His family had earlier suffered another loss in 1999, when his brother, Prince Charles Happy Kijanangoma, was gunned down in Fort Portal town.
Burial arrangements and funeral rites will be announced jointly by the royal family and kingdom authorities.
