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Uganda Buries Boy-King Oyo as Rival Claims Split Tooro Throne

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Uganda's King Oyo, once the world's youngest monarch, was buried in Fort Portal as his family and clan elders clash over who inherits the Tooro throne.

King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who took the throne of Uganda's Tooro kingdom as a three-year-old and once held the record as the world's youngest reigning monarch, was laid to rest on Saturday in Fort Portal in the country's west. He was 34. His burial came only days after a bitter dispute erupted over the question of who should now lead the kingdom.

Oyo died last month in the United States, where he had been receiving treatment for cancer. Thousands of people crowded the roadsides as his casket travelled to the royal tombs, where a private ceremony was held. According to Guinness World Records, he was the youngest monarch in the world for the duration of his reign, which began when he was still a toddler.

The succession has divided the palace. Clan elders selected Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a 56-year-old television news presenter and a cousin of the late king, to take the throne. During the funeral, Kijanangoma is reported to have dropped nine coffee beans into Oyo's grave. The act is a customary gesture marking the close of one monarch's rule and the opening of the next.

Oyo's relatives dispute the choice. His sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, said her brother had drawn up a will in 2022 that named his own young son as the rightful successor. The child has not been publicly identified. The family formally rejected Kijanangoma in the days before the burial.

The late king's mother, Queen Best Kemigisa, described the family's situation in stark terms. She said the guards who normally protect the palace had been pulled out and replaced by soldiers, a change she said confined the royals and blocked them from moving freely or welcoming guests. She called it "house arrest".

Senior figures used the funeral to appeal for calm. Stephen Kazimba Mugalu, Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, warned mourners that anger voiced in a moment of loss could tear the kingdom apart. "Words spoken in grief can cause pain, division and conflict. It can even destroy the legacy of the king we are mourning," he said.

President Yoweri Museveni also weighed in, urging those involved to settle the matter and to "favour unity over division".

The clan responsible for managing the transition stood by its decision. Omusuuga Charles Karumasi, who heads the Babiito royal clan, insisted the process had followed established custom. "We have done everything in observance of the culture and traditions of Tooro," he said. "We must all preserve peace and serenity."

Tooro is one of several traditional kingdoms in Uganda. The country's post-independence government abolished these monarchies in 1967. They were brought back in the 1990s during Museveni's presidency, but on a strictly cultural footing: their rulers are acknowledged as custodians of heritage and tradition rather than holders of political power.

With the throne now contested between a clan-appointed monarch and a family pointing to a written will, the future of the kingdom's leadership remains unresolved even after Oyo has been buried.

King Oyo, Tooro kingdom, Uganda, Prince Kijanangoma, Princess Ruth Komuntale, Fort Portal, royal succession, Yoweri Museveni

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