Letter to H.M the Queen Mother Best Kemigisa of Tooro from H.S.H Princess Mary Yar of Bir Tawil on the occasion of her son's passing

Queen Mother Best Kemigisa
Karuzika Palace
Fort Portal
Tooro Kingdom
Uganda

September 1, 2026

Your Majesty,

I write to you today with a heart heavy from the news of your son's passing. There is a particular sorrow in losing a child, no matter their age or station, and I imagine that sorrow is only sharpened by having watched him grow up so publicly from a three-year-old boy suddenly bearing a crown, to the man who carried that same crown for three decades.

You served as his guardian and regent in those early years, shaping the king he would become before the world ever saw him as one. That kind of bond does not end with a title passed on; it stays with a mother always. I hope you are surrounded by family, by the traditions of Tooro, and by people who remember him not as a monarch but simply as your son.

I will admit that his passing has struck me with a force I did not expect. King Oyo was more than a distant figure to me, he was something of a role model. A young person entrusted with an ancient crown in the pearl of Africa, who grew into that responsibility with grace and dedication rather than being overwhelmed by it. He showed what it could look like to carry tradition forward while still belonging to the modern world. Bir Tawil is a mere seed next to the pearl that is your homeland but still, his example shaped how I hoped to grow into my own role. Learning that he was only a little older than I am now has left me shaken in a way I am still sitting with. It is a stark reminder of how fleeting time is, and how much responsibility rests on us regardless of age.

Uganda has lost a cultural figure who spent his life in service to his people, but you have lost something far more personal, and it is that loss I write to acknowledge above all. Please accept my heartfelt condolences.

With warmth and sympathy,

Mary Yar I