Burial of King Oyo takes place in Uganda as news anchor prepares for throne

Royal guards carry casket through streets of Fort Portal amid row over appointment of Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma

Uganda’s King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, long the world’s youngest monarch, has been buried among the tombs of his royal forebears as his Tooro kingdom looked to put a bitter succession battle behind it.

Oyo’s appointed successor, the news anchor Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, cast nine coffee berries into the grave at the Karambi Royal Tombs, marking the formal handover of power in the western Ugandan kingdom.

Oyo made global headlines in 1995 when he took the throne at the age of three. Images of the toddler king wearing a crown and royal robes sparked curiosity and adoration around the world.

He died last month at 34 in the United States, where he was receiving treatment for cancer.

Uganda is led by an elected head of state but retains several kingdoms that pre-date the British colonial era and are regarded as bulwarks of traditional identity and heritage.

At a church service before the burial, Oyo, who became a UN goodwill ambassador championing the fight against HIV and Aids, was eulogised as a reserved but jovial young man.

“Although he became king and carried responsibilities far beyond what most people ever experience, he never completely lost the young boy who loved to have fun,” said his sister, Ruth Komuntale.

Royal guards clad in orange shawls then led the hearse carrying Oyo’s casket through the streets of the kingdom’s capital, Fort Portal, to the royal tombs, as thousands of mourners joined the procession on foot.

The burial, which was held 31 years to the day after Oyo’s coronation, followed days of bickering within the notoriously fractious royal family.

A committee consisting of members of the royal clan announced on Wednesday it had chosen Oyo’s cousin, Kijanangoma, a news anchor and editor at state broadcaster UBC, as king.

But the late king’s immediate family said his hitherto unknown son should succeed him, as called for in his will. Oyo never married and was not known to have any children until the kingdom’s prime minister said in the statement announcing his death that he had a son.

Supporters of Kijanangoma’s succession say Oyo’s family has not been able to produce basic information about the purported son.

A source with knowledge of crisis talks over the matter said Ugandan authorities had successfully pushed through Kijanangoma’s succession on Friday. A government spokesperson could not be reached for comment.

The archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu, called for unity.

“Words spoken in grief can cause pain, division and conflict,” he told mourners. “It can even destroy the legacy of the king we are mourning.“

Oyo himself took the throne after a protracted succession battle that finished in court.

In addition to his ceremonial responsibilities and campaigning against HIV and Aids, Oyo cultivated close ties with former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, whom he named a special adviser to the monarch. Gaddafi donated money towards refurbishment of the royal palace.

The 56-year-old Kijanangoma, who maintained a lower profile as the succession battle played out, has been described by fellow Ugandan journalists as quiet and humble.

Besides the throne, the new king will inherit a considerable royal estate including swathes of land and sizeable cash payouts from the central government.