World’s Youngest King, Oyo Buried Amid Dispute Over Successor

Uganda’s King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who was recognised as the world’s youngest reigning monarch, was buried earlier today, September 12, as a dispute over his successor continued to divide the Tooro Kingdom.

Thousands of mourners gathered in Fort Portal, western Uganda, to pay their final respects to Oyo, who became king at the age of three and reigned for 31 years before his death at 34. He died while receiving cancer treatment in the United States.

His sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, remembered him as a joyful person during the burial ceremony at Saint John’s Cathedral.

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

“He always knew how to brighten my day,” she added, sobbing.

But as the kingdom mourned King Oyo, members of the royal family remained divided over who should succeed him.

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 chosen to succeed his cousin.

Princess Komuntale rejected the decision and accused “evil vultures” of conspiring against her and the Queen Mother. She produced what she said was a will written by King Oyo in 2022, naming “a biological son” as his heir without revealing his identity.

The claim surprised members of the Tooro elite, who said they had never heard of the son. His name 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 amid the succession dispute.

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

“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 in a statement read at the ceremony.

“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 defended its decision, insisting that it had followed 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.