Journalist to be crowned king of Uganda’s Tooro after succession row

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.

A journalist is due to be crowned king of a traditional monarchy on Tuesday, following the death of its former "boy king" last month which caused grief and a succession dispute in Uganda’s Tooro Kingdom.

The new monarch, a prince who spent many years working as an editor and broadcaster with the Uganda Broadcasting Corp, has chosen the regnal name Edward Rukidi Nyabongo. After performing overnight rituals, he was ushered into the palace ahead of his official unveiling to followers later on Tuesday.

Traditional kingdoms were banned across Uganda during the 1960s following independence from British rule, after a republican president claimed the move was necessary to unify the country. These royal institutions were eventually restored in 1993.

While traditional rulers in the East African nation hold no formal authority and are legally barred from participating in partisan politics, they retain immense influence among their people as guardians of traditional culture.

Thousands of spectators are expected to attend the coronation in Fort Portal, a remote town in western Uganda near the border with Congo, while many more will watch the ceremony on televised broadcasts.

Although Nyabongo was not particularly high in the line of succession, elders from the kingdom's ruling Babiito clan selected him from a pool of eligible princes after King Oyo Nyimba died from cancer at the age of 34 in August without a publicly known heir.

The queen mother, Best Kemigisa, disputed that decision and charged that the written will of King Oyo hadn't been followed in the selection of Nyabongo.

Kemigisa said that Oyo left behind a young son whose identity would be unveiled at the right time, casting doubt on the legitimacy of Nyabongo and the decision of the Babiito to choose him. Local media cited disagreeable scenes — including a brief disagreement over custody of the king’s remains – at Oyo’s Sept. 12 funeral.

Although Oyo’s alleged son is yet to be revealed, purported photos of a “Baby Oyo” have flooded social media, giving hope to devotees of the deceased monarch. But critics say that the child, if he exists, should have been introduced to the kingdom's elders while his father was still alive.

"They have demonstrated that these are the norms of the kingdom," Nicholas Sengoba, a prominent political analyst in Uganda, said of the Babiito's selection of Nyabongo. “Many of these positions may not be popular.”

Oyo was crowned in 1995, at the age of 3, after his father’s death. He was a curious child in colorful robes and an object of adoration for his hundreds of thousands of followers.

At his coronation, he went through a series of tribal rituals and was led into the royal cemetery to perform a coming-of-age ceremony: successfully tossing nine coffee beans into his father’s tomb.

Oyo once held the unofficial title of the world’s youngest king, a mesmerizing figure even for world leaders introduced to him at national events, including South Africa’s Nelson Mandela. Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was one of those who befriended the Tooro royal family as if they were part of his extended family. Gadhafi made multiple trips to Uganda and supported Oyo and Kemigisa for years before Gadhafi’s death in October 2011.

Oyo was guided by regents appointed by the kingdom until he became an adult at 18.