Stephen Mugabe - (CEO Fort Portal City Marathon)

Your Majesty King Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I, Congratulations on your coronation as the King of Tooro. Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for our Kingdom. I pray that God grants Your Majesty wisdom, strength, humility and good health to guide your people with fairness, compassion and courage. May you always be guided by wisdom in your decisions, and may your reign bring unity, peace, progress and prosperity to the people of Tooro. May God bless Your Majesty, your family and the Kingdom of Tooro. Omukama ahangirize.

A MESSAGE OF GRATITUDE, REFLECTION AND HEALING People of Tooro, friends of Tooro, and all those who stood with us, As we come to the end of one of the most painful chapters in the recent history of our Kingdom, I wish, on behalf of the Tooro Kingdom administration and on my own behalf, to express our profound gratitude to everyone who stood with us and supported the final journey and dignified send-off of our beloved King, His Majesty Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. Our responsibility during these difficult days was clear: whatever else was happening around us, we had to see this journey through with the dignity, respect and honour befitting our King. We had to put aside our differences, manage our grief and work together to ensure that His Majesty was laid to rest in a manner worthy of the Crown he carried and the people he served. In a special way, I wish to recognise and thank Prince Jonathan Bala, His Majesty’s Principal Private Secretary, for his loyalty, dedication and service to our King. Throughout this extraordinarily difficult period, his commitment to His Majesty remained steadfast. He carried an enormous personal and official responsibility, often under very difficult circumstances, and continued to serve with dedication until the very end. He deserves our sincere acknowledgement and gratitude. I thank His Excellency the President, General Muhoozi, the Royal Family, the Government of Uganda, religious and cultural leaders, the organising committees, the media, our Kingdom leadership, clans and Masaza, volunteers, businesses and partners, the people of Tooro, Ugandans across the country, the diaspora and friends from beyond our borders. Whether you contributed your time, resources, professional expertise, food, transport, prayers, presence or simply stood with us in solidarity, you became part of His Majesty’s final journey. We are deeply grateful. We recognise that everything may not have been done perfectly. This was an unprecedented moment for our generation. We were mourning our King while simultaneously carrying the enormous responsibility of organising his final journey. Emotions were understandably high, decisions sometimes had to be made under extraordinary pressure, and grief affected us all in different ways. Where we fell short of expectations, where communication could have been better, or where anyone felt disappointed by our actions or omissions, I offer my sincere apologies. These shortcomings should never be mistaken for a lack of respect or commitment. We were a people grieving an immense loss while doing everything within our ability to honour our King. Now that we have laid His Majesty to rest, another journey begins. This must be a period of learning, refocusing, rebuilding and healing. We must learn from what these difficult weeks revealed about our institutions and ourselves. We must strengthen what worked, honestly address what did not, rebuild trust where it has been strained and allow ourselves, individually and collectively, the space to heal. There will be difficult conversations ahead. There will be institutional questions that require wisdom and clarity. There may be different opinions about the way forward. But our differences must never become greater than the Kingdom we all belong to. This is not the time for winners and losers. It is the time for responsible leadership, humility and reconciliation. His Majesty’s passing should remind us that positions are temporary, but Tooro remains. Personal ambitions pass, disagreements pass and generations pass, but the responsibility of preserving this Kingdom for those who come after us endures. Our guiding principle in the days ahead must therefore remain simple: Tooro comes first. Above personalities. Above positions. Above disagreements. Above individual interests. May we find the wisdom to learn, the humility to reconcile, the courage to rebuild and the strength to move forward together. @ObukamaBwaTooro

STATEMENT TO THE PEOPLE OF TOORO Fellow Batooro, friends of Tooro and all those who mourn with us, As we prepare to receive His Majesty the Omukama and ultimately lay our King to rest, I appeal to every Mutooro to conduct ourselves with the dignity, restraint and decorum befitting this solemn moment. We have lost our King. We have lost a son of Tooro whose life, leadership and service carried the name of our Kingdom far beyond our borders. At this moment, our responsibility is not to allow disagreements, speculation or competing narratives to define these final days. Our responsibility is to protect His Majesty’s memory, honour his legacy and give him the dignified farewell he deserves. Moments like these require leadership, not posturing. They require less talking and more organising. We are all grieving and emotions are understandably high, but leadership requires us to rise above those emotions, lead by example and never lose sight of the bigger picture. The world is watching us, but more importantly, the people of Tooro are looking to us for leadership. How we conduct ourselves during this difficult period reflects on all Batooro. Let us therefore demonstrate the values for which our people are known: dignity, respect, unity and love for our Kingdom. I am aware that questions have been raised regarding some of the circumstances surrounding His Majesty’s time abroad and the communication around it. I wish to clarify one matter respectfully. The information communicated to the public that His Majesty was abroad studying, and subsequently that he was well, was communicated in accordance with His Majesty’s express wishes and direction. As someone serving him, it was my responsibility to respect his wishes and protect his privacy. I did so faithfully and respectfully. I am also confident that His Majesty acted in good faith. He was confident in his recovery and was looking forward to returning home and reuniting with his people for the 31st Empango. He did not want to cause unnecessary alarm among his people. Other matters have also been raised. This is neither the time nor the place to debate them. They must not be allowed to create division, controversy or distract us from the enormous responsibility before us. There will be a proper time and forum, after His Majesty has been laid to rest, to address any matters that require clarification. For now, everything else is secondary. I therefore appeal especially to Kingdom leaders, cultural leaders, public officials, the media, commentators and everyone using social media to exercise restraint. Words spoken in moments of grief can deepen divisions that may take years to repair. Let us choose words and actions that unite the Batooro and reflect the dignity of the Kingdom. I also appeal for privacy and respect for the Royal Family and those who were closest to His Majesty. Their grief is deeply personal, and they must be given the space to mourn without intrusion, unnecessary speculation or pressure to speak. Their privacy and dignity should be respected throughout this difficult period. Our duty now is simple: to receive our King with honour, lay him to rest with dignity, and stand together as one people. Future generations will remember not only that Tooro lost its King, but also how we conducted ourselves in this moment of grief. Let them remember a people who chose unity over division, service over posturing, and leadership over controversy. Until His Majesty has been laid to rest, let us remain united and focused on giving him the peaceful and honourable farewell he deserves. In all that we say and do, Tooro must come first.