Body of world's youngest traditional king returns home to Uganda amid succession row
King Oyo died in the US last week aged 34 after receiving treatment for an aggressive form of cancer.
The body of the world’s youngest traditional king has been returned to Uganda as a succession dispute grows.
Royal mourners watched as the coffin was taken off the plane at Entebbe airport, where President Yoweri Musveni was among those gathered to pay their respects.
King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV died in the US last week at the age of 34 after being treated for an aggressive form of cancer.
The Tooro king will be buried next Saturday, the same day he had hoped to mark the anniversary of his coronation. He became king at just three years old and was crowned when he turned 18.
The arrival of his body begins the Tooro kingdom’s official nine-day mourning period, as a public row grows over who will succeed him.
A short ceremony was held after the king’s coffin reached Entebbe airport.
Uganda has an elected president and parliament, but it also has several traditional kingdoms that still carry major cultural influence even though they hold no political power.
Oyo, whom Guinness World Records listed as the world’s youngest reigning monarch, ruled more than two million people. He was the 13th monarch of a kingdom founded in the early 19th Century.
After the airport ceremony, his body was flown by military helicopter to Kyegegwa in western Uganda, where the Tooro Kingdom is based, before being taken by road to the royal palace in Fort Portal.
It will lie in state at Karuziika Palace during the mourning period, with members of the public allowed to pay their respects and prayers held there each evening.
On Thursday, Uganda’s parliament held a special tribute to King Oyo, with MPs recalling him as a modernising monarch who promoted education, health and opportunities for young people.
President Yoweri Museveni laid a wreath on King Oyo’s coffin at Entebbe airport.
Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja called him a “symbol of unity” and praised his efforts to raise awareness about HIV and Aids among young people.
Opposition MPs also paid tribute, with acting opposition leader Patrick Nsamba Oshabe saying: “Heritage and development were never rivals in his hands.”
President Museveni has ordered an official burial for the monarch, and national flags will be flown at half-mast for three days around the funeral.
On Wednesday, the Tooro kingdom’s Prime Minister, Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki, said the king had asked officials not to reveal how serious his illness was because he believed he would recover and return to his people.
He said the monarch had hoped to come home for this year’s Empango, the annual celebration of his coronation, on 12 September.
“He was confident in his recovery,” Akiiki said.
His death has created uncertainty over the future of the monarchy because Oyo was not officially married.
However, Akiiki has said the king had a young son, whose identity would be disclosed later in line with Tooro customs.
President Museveni also said the king’s mother, Queen Best Kemigisa, had told him that her son had left an heir.
But Charles Kamurasi, head of the Babiito royal clan from which Tooro’s kings are chosen, said he knew nothing about the reported child, leading to an unusual public disagreement among senior figures in the kingdom.
Others in the royal clan have questioned why they were apparently unaware of the child.
“The prime minister is not supposed to talk about the king’s heir. It is a cultural process,” one royal clan member was quoted as saying by Uganda’s state-owned New Vision newspaper.
“How can we, blood relatives, not know of the child, and the prime minister says he knows? That is totally out of order,” the clan member added.
Akiiki has since urged that the dispute be handled privately, saying he wanted to meet other elders to settle their differences.
“Words spoken in moments of grief can deepen divisions that may take years to repair,” he warned.
King Oyo ascended to the throne at the age of three and was crowned on reaching adulthood at 18 in 2010.
The Ugandan government has also stepped in, telling people not to spread speculation about the succession on social media.
Culture Minister Henry Tumukunde said Ugandans should depend on official information from the government and the Tooro Kingdom, adding that any dispute would be handled under the law governing traditional and cultural leaders.
“The whole world is watching how Uganda mourns its king,” he said, urging people to show “restraint and respect”.
The Tooro Kingdom follows a hereditary system in choosing its monarch.
King Oyo became king in 1995 and drew international attention because of his young age.
Before burial, a church funeral service will be held at a local church.
His body will then be carried in a traditional procession to the Karambi Royal Tombs, with burial expected to be completed by 14:00 local time.
According to Tooro tradition, kings are not buried in the evening.