Uganda's King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who became the world's youngest monarch two decades ago at just three years old, passed away on 27 August at aged 34. Two weeks later, the King has been laid to rest.
The Queen Mother, Best Kemigisa, and her daughter, Princess Ruth Komuntale, were seen in mourning black on 12 September as they bid a final goodbye to the monarch at a requiem mass held at St. John's Cathedral in Fort Portal, followed by a burial. Thousands gathered on the streets to join the funeral procession as the King's casket, accompanied by royal guards, was transported to his final resting place, the Karambi Royal Tombs, where a private ceremony reportedly took place.
Oyo passed away while undergoing cancer treatment in the US last month. In heartbreaking scenes following his death, the monarch's family and government officials gathered at Entebbe Airport on 4 September for an emotional homecoming, where they awaited the arrival of his coffin for a transfer ceremony.
© Getty Images
© Getty ImagesThe world's youngest monarch
When his father, Patrick David Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III, died in 1995 of a heart attack, Oyo, just a toddler at the time, not only inherited the Tooro Kingdom throne but became the world's youngest ruling monarch. He took on his full royal responsibilities in 2010 when he reached adulthood and was on the throne for three decades.
Tooro is one of Western Uganda's traditional kingdoms with a monarch that has retained cultural significance but no political power.
"This is an immeasurable loss to the Royal Family, the people of Tooro and the nation of Uganda," Tooro Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki said in a statement. "I call upon all the people of Tooro to remain united, calm and prayerful during this profoundly difficult time."
© AFP via Getty ImagesWho will inherit the throne?
In his statement, the prime minister said "the continuity of the Crown is assured" and that the late monarch "leaves behind a Prince as his heir, whose identity will be formally revealed at the appropriate time, in accordance with the traditions and customs of Tooro Kingdom."
The monarch's death has sparked a succession dispute between members of the royal clan and the late King's family. Oyo's cousin, Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, 56, who is an editor at Uganda Broadcasting Corporation, was selected by a committee made up of members of the royal clan to be the new King of Tooro.
Meanwhile, Oyo's immediate family have called for his unnamed son, born out of wedlock, as his rightful heir.
