Museveni urges unity in monarch succession row

Uganda's King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, once the world's youngest reigning monarch, was buried on Saturday, days after a row broke out over who would succeed him, reports BBC News. Oyo (34), who had ruled the traditional kingdom of Tooro in western Uganda since the age of three, died last month while undergoing cancer treatment in the US. Tooro is one of Uganda's traditional kingdoms. They were abolished in 1967 but restored in the 1990s under President Yoweri Museveni. Their monarchs are recognised as cultural leaders rather than political rulers. TV news presenter Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma was named as the next monarch by clan elders. But days earlier, Oyo's family rejected Kijanangoma, the late monarch's cousin, as Tooro's new king. Oyo's sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, said the late king had left a will, written in 2022, naming his young son as his successor. The boy's identity has never been disclosed. Meanwhile, his mother, Queen Best Kemigisa, said royal guards had been withdrawn from the palace and soldiers deployed. This, she said, restricted the royal family's movement and their ability to receive visitors, describing it as ‘house arrest’. Museveni also called for the matter to be resolved ‘and to favour unity over division’.