We write as lifelong learners and students of crisis communication, and as keen observers of the events that have transpired and are unfolding following the sudden death of the world’s youngest reigning monarch and beloved King of Tooro Kingdom, His Majesty King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. The King died in the United States, where he had gone to receive treatment for an aggressive form of cancer.
His sudden death at the age of 34 sent an avalanche of issues that needed to be managed and communicated effectively to the royal family and officials, his Majesty’s bereaved subjects in the Tooro Kingdom, key national government leaders, monarchial dignitaries, and stakeholders in Uganda, Africa and the global community at large. Managing this magnitude of stakeholders and their information and communication needs required a mastery of knowledge and the appropriate application of core crisis communication guiding principles. These principles include accuracy, truth, timeliness, empathy, respect for the monarch, the bereaved family and subjects, confidentiality, controlled timing and communication, hierarchical notification, centralized and dignified announcement and multi-channel delivery of information to reach all concerned stakeholders
This required learning, unlearning, and relearning what we knew about crisis communication as several issues and embedded crises and coincidences unfolded. First, King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, died on August 27th, 2026, just a day apart from his late father King Patrick David Mathew Kaboyo Olimi III who died on August 26th, 1995. In addition, the King was set to hold his 30th coronation celebrations on the 12th day of September, 2026, which presently happens to be the day he will be laid to rest. Moreover, the King was not yet married and the question of who would succeed him to the throne also became an embedded sub-crisis that needed to be addressed concurrently during the official nine days of mourning prior to 12th Sept 2026 when the King will be laid to rest.
As such the communication regarding the death of the king along with circumstantial issues had not been anticipated or planned in advance leading to the juggling of multiple embedded critical potential crises within a crisis.
To this end, we have the utmost respect for the Tooro Kingdom Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Calvin Armstrong, Premier Owekitiinisa Akiki, who had to navigate the communication of all these issues while upholding the values of confidentiality, timeliness, truth and accuracy, calm, grace, dignity and empathy that the situation required in order to build and maintain public trust. Speaking personally, as Duncan Keith Musumba, a servant of His Majesty and the people of Tooro, I honestly do not know how I would have carried the weight of responsibility that the Prime Minister is carrying at the moment. This is especially true in light of the fact that the sudden death of the King was unanticipated, leaving us with no formal crisis communication plan for the situation we presently face.
Moreover, the King was a powerful, reticent leader who used silence as a strategy. If you are tasked with the delegated duty of communicating for him, that in itself is a paradox—you may be forced to communicate the silence itself. It is also worth noting that when communicating during a monarchical crisis, silence and confidentiality can be resourceful strategies. In the same vein, however, depending on the severity of their application, they can open doors for a multitude of unverified, unofficial narratives that run wild at the expense of the cultural institution’s identity and reputation.
As such, the Prime Minister stated categorically at the start that he had no idea His Majesty was unwell. Many questioned that narrative. However, as students of cultural institution communications—particularly regarding the death of a monarch—we understood it. A king does not show weakness; that is his first duty. The moment subjects sense frailty, succession conversations begin, anxiety and misinformation spread, and institutional stability is threatened.
Our King preferred silence. Confidentiality and timely communication were some of his core values and strategies. If you served him for two years, you listened to him, watched him, and heard the unsaid word. When people presented him with their concerns, you would often hear him say quietly, “Let us not communicate that for now. Hold it.” The only way to honor him now that he can no longer tell us what to do is to maintain that very dignity, do what we know he wanted, what he stood for, what his values were.
Even His Excellency the President of Uganda understood this at Entebbe when we received the body. Speeches had been prepared by different ministries, but he set them aside and said, “No, we are mourning. We will mourn in silence in honour of the King’s values.”
On the day His Majesty rested, the Prime Minister issued a “holding statement.” In monarchical crisis communication, that is what we call it. The statement said His Majesty was in critical condition. To an outsider, those were just words. To a Mutooro, that was a guinea fowl screaming in the forest. In our forests, when the guinea fowl screams, every animal gets chills and runs because it is announcing the arrival of a leopard. That first statement was our warning that something unprecedented was about to happen. Three hours later came the confirmation.
What has moved me most is how the Prime Minister has maintained decorum in the face of very trying public discourse. He has remained empathetic, respectful, and truthful—not only to Batooro but also to other kingdoms, the country, and the world at large—knowing that our deeply beloved, fallen King, Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, was loved by many both near and far.
I have watched stakeholder management at its highest level. I have seen the Prime Minister of Uganda work with him, alongside the Prime Minister of Busoga and the Deputy Prime Minister. I have seen government entities, other cultural institutions, and the business community unite. I have seen pastors, archbishops, bishops, reverends, imams, and sheikhs in Kampala, Fort Portal, and across the country work with him. I have also seen corporate brands, schools, universities, professional bodies, and well-wishing individuals pay their respects and contribute to the successful and respectful send-off of our beloved fallen King.
These expressions of coordinated cooperation and support from around the country and the world at large do not happen by coincidence. I was Chief Usher in Buziga for five days, where I received kings delegations from Ghana, Rwanda, and other high dignitaries.
Finally, I have learned humility and calmness in the middle of a storm. The Prime Minister has remained calm and dignified throughout the process. In the Bible, only Jesus could take a nap in a storm. To remain calm when the world you lead and are part of is literally experiencing excruciating pain; when the entire world, albeit understandably, is critically watching events as they unfold; when grief is raw, genuinely painful, and must be expressed; and when millions of grieving stakeholder calls are coming in and must be responded to with calm, dignity, respect, and empathy—that is leadership in practice.
The King told us to focus on building Tooro, not personal growth. When Tooro grows, the butterfly effect will be community development, economic empowerment, and social transformation.
We are not yet done mourning. But even in mourning, we must pause and ask: what are we learning? How can we do better during and after the crisis?
I call upon the world to approach us with considerate kindness, grace, and empathetic understanding. We are going through a moment we were not prepared for—a moment testing the very core of our values and our humanity. We all grieve differently. Some grieve quietly, some wail, some roll on the floor, and some put their reflections in a book. Allow us to grieve, and allow us to honour a deeply loved and treasured King, His Majesty King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who taught us that sometimes, silence speaks loudest as it allows for self-reflection, strategic planning, and wise action.
Authors:
Duncan Keith Musumba – Communication and Marketing expert and servant of the Tooro Kingdom.
Tooro cultural identifiers about the author- The author belongs to the Abasambu clan, one of the sixteen ancient clans of Bunyoro Kitara and a mother clan of Tooro. The Abasambu trace their origin to the great Bunyoro Kitara Empire and became part of Tooro when Omukama Kaboyo Olimi I established the independent kingdom in 1822. The clan’s daughter Nyarusweka was mother to Omukama Nyaika Kasunga Kyebambe I who ruled as the third and fifth King of Tooro. In Tooro tradition, a clan that produces a Queen Mother holds a respected place as keeper of royal history and cultural memory.
Co-Author
Barbra Natifu– Crisis and Risk Communication Consultant
About the Author – Barbra Natifu is a Crisis and Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) Consultant and Trainer at Africa One Health University (AFROHUN). She is a Ugandan Public Health Communication Specialist with over fifteen years’ experience in Social and Behaviour Change (SBC), Behavioral Science, RCCE, Crisis Communication, Institutional Identity and Reputation Management. She utilizes human-centered design approaches to address global health challenges such as HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, Ebola, Rabies, Anthrax. She has managed strategic health communication interventions for several organizations including UNICEF-Uganda, USAID, Johns Hopkins CCP. She has published widely on PR, crisis communication, leadership, institutional identity, reputation management and global health communication.
