The burial of Uganda's King Oyo
King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV of Uganda's Tooro Kingdom -- once recognized as the world's youngest reigning monarch after ascending the throne at age three in 1995 -- was buried on September 12 at the Karambi Royal Tombs in Fort Portal amid a bitter succession dispute. Oyo died on August 27 at 34, in the United States, from angiosarcoma, an aggressive cancer he had been treated for in Kenya, Germany and the US after first developing back and rib pain the previous year; he kept the illness private at his own request. During the burial, Tooro clan elders' chosen successor, 56-year-old news anchor Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma -- Oyo's cousin -- formally assumed power by casting nine coffee berries into the grave, a customary handover ritual. Oyo, who never married, was not publicly known to have children.
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14 September 2026
- Uganda buries ‘boy king’ whose death sparked succession battle South China Morning Post