World’s Youngest King, Oyo, Buried Amid Succession Dispute

Uganda’s King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who was recognised as the world’s youngest reigning monarch, has been buried amid an escalating dispute within the Tooro Kingdom over who should succeed him.

Thousands of mourners gathered in Fort Portal, western Uganda, on Saturday, September 12, to pay their final respects to Oyo, who ascended the throne at the age of three and reigned for 31 years before his death at 34.

According to Ireporter Online, the monarch died while receiving cancer treatment in the United States.

During the burial ceremony at Saint John’s Cathedral, Oyo’s sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, remembered him as a joyful and warm-hearted person who had a special ability to make people laugh.

“He had a gift to make people laugh,” she said.

She added, while sobbing, that her brother “always knew how to brighten my day.”

However, the solemn burial took place against the backdrop of a bitter disagreement among members of the royal family over who should inherit the throne.

A selection committee from the Babiito royal clan announced on Wednesday that Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a news anchor with Uganda’s public broadcaster, UBC, had been selected to succeed his cousin.

Princess Komuntale, however, rejected the decision and accused what she described as “evil vultures” of conspiring against her and the Queen Mother.

She also presented what she said was a will written by King Oyo in 2022, claiming that the late monarch had named a “biological son” as his heir. She did not disclose the identity of the alleged son.

The claim reportedly caught members of the Tooro elite by surprise, with some saying they had never previously heard about the existence of such a son. The alleged heir was also not included in the succession vote.

Oyo’s mother has separately alleged that she and other members of the royal family were placed under effective house arrest as tensions over the succession intensified.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni appealed for unity during Saturday’s burial and urged members of the Batoro community to resolve the succession dispute peacefully and within the law.

In a statement read at the ceremony, Museveni said the government would be prepared to work with the new king once the succession issue was settled.

“Once the matter of the new king of the Batoro is settled, we will be happy to work with him, just as we did with His Highness Oyo,” he said.

“I call on the Batoro to use peaceful and lawful means to resolve this issue and to favour unity over division.”

The Babiito royal clan, meanwhile, defended its selection of Prince Kijanangoma, insisting that the process was conducted in accordance with the traditions and customs of the Tooro Kingdom.

“We have done everything in observance of the culture and traditions of Tooro. We must all preserve peace and serenity,” the clan’s head, Omusuuga Charles Karumasi, said.

The dispute has cast uncertainty over the future leadership of the historic kingdom even as mourners continue to honour the legacy of King Oyo, who became monarch as a three-year-old and remained on the throne for more than three decades.