Uganda buries one-time ‘boy king’ whose death has sparked a succession battle

King Oyo Nyimba, 34, who ascended the throne of Tooro Kingdom as an infant in 1995, died last month from cancer. He did not leave an heir

Uganda’s King Oyo Nyimba, who was once the world’s youngest monarch, was buried on Saturday amid an acrimonious succession dispute that has rocked the royal family and gripped the nation.

The traditional monarch, who ascended the throne of Uganda’s Tooro Kingdom as an infant in 1995, died last month from cancer. He was 34.

He was buried next to his ancestors after an emotional funeral service in an Anglican cathedral in the remote city of Fort Portal, near the Congo border, concluding a nine-day mourning period.

Elders with the kingdom’s ruling clan, known as the Babiito, said Oyo, who was unmarried, never declared an heir to them, disputing the account of others in the kingdom who said he left behind a son born out of wedlock.

The son has not been publicly identified, leading to sensational claims on social media of at least two possible heirs alleged to be Oyo’s children.

On Wednesday, a committee of Tooro elders announced that they had chosen a prince working as a journalist to succeed Oyo, earning praise from traditionalists who want an adult on the throne and rebuke from Oyo’s closest relatives.

Oyo’s sister, Ruth Komuntale, said the announcement sought to “bring division and turmoil.” Queen Mother Best Kemigisa said in a statement that the succession battle undermined their ability to mourn the king’s death. “I also appeal to those fighting over the throne: please, there will be time for all of that,” she said in a statement. “Let us grieve and bury my son King Oyo.”