Ugandan Kingdom Selects New Monarch

A traditional Ugandan kingdom selected a television news anchor on Wednesday to succeed King Oyo Nyimba, who died last month aged 34 after becoming the world’s youngest reigning monarch when he took the throne at the age of three.

Oyo Nyimba died on August 27 in the United States, where he was receiving treatment for cancer.

Although Uganda is a constitutional republic, Oyo Nyimba ruled Tooro in western Uganda, one of the ancient kingdoms in the country. Such kingdoms have no formal political power but retain significant cultural and social influence.

At a press conference in Fort Portal, the kingdom’s capital, the royal clan’s succession committee announced that it had selected Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as the new monarch.

Kijanangoma is a news anchor and editor at the state-run Uganda Broadcasting Corporation.

Oyo Nyimba became the world’s youngest reigning monarch in 1995 when he was crowned at the age of three, according to Guinness World Records. He later became a UN Goodwill Ambassador and campaigned against HIV and AIDS.

Kijanangoma’s selection contradicted an earlier announcement by Tooro’s Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire that Oyo Nyimba, who was unmarried, had left behind a child who would succeed him.

Oyo Nyimba’s body was returned to Uganda from the United States on Friday. Preparations were under way for his burial on Saturday at the royal tombs near his palace in Fort Portal.

The circumstances surrounding the succession remain subject to the decision announced by the royal clan’s succession committee.

SOURCE: Reuters