The body of King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who held the unofficial title of the world's youngest reigning monarch, arrived at Entebbe Airport on Friday to a formal military reception, as Uganda prepared to bury a ruler who had ascended the throne at the age of three. King Oyo, sovereign of the Tooro Kingdom — a traditional monarchy in western Uganda — died last week in the United States at 34 after receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness in Germany and later in America. President Yoweri Museveni personally received the casket, and national flags will fly at half-mast for three days around the funeral.

King Oyo's body will lie in state in Kyegegwa, in the Tooro Kingdom's heartland, before a church funeral service and a traditional procession to the Karambi Royal Tombs. Burial is expected to be completed by 14:00 local time on 12 September — the same date as the Empango, the annual celebration of his coronation — a poignant coincidence, as the king had hoped to return home alive for the occasion. In keeping with Tooro custom, the burial will not take place in the evening. Tributes have poured in from across the political spectrum. Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja called him a "symbol of unity" and praised his work raising HIV and Aids awareness among young people, while acting opposition leader Patrick Nsamba Oshabe said: "Heritage and development were never rivals in his hands."

The mourning has been overshadowed by a deepening dispute over succession. Because King Oyo was not officially married, questions about an heir have prompted an unusual public rift among senior figures in the kingdom. The Tooro Kingdom's Prime Minister, Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki, stated that the king had a young son whose identity would be revealed in accordance with Tooro customs — a claim supported by Queen Mother Best Kemigisa. However, Charles Kamurasi, head of the Babiito royal clan from which Tooro's kings are traditionally chosen, said he was entirely unaware of any such child. Other clan members expressed similar bewilderment, with one quoted as saying: "How can we, blood relatives, not know of the child, and the prime minister says he knows? That is totally out of order."

The Ugandan government has stepped in to urge calm. Culture Minister Henry Tumukunde called on citizens to avoid spreading speculation on social media, warning that "the whole world is watching how Uganda mourns its king" and stressing that any dispute would be handled under the law governing traditional and cultural institutions. Akiiki himself appealed for the matter to be resolved privately among elders, cautioning that "words spoken in moments of grief can deepen divisions that may take years to repair."

Uganda is a republic that officially recognises traditional kingdoms, which hold limited political power but serve as guardians of tribal culture and identity. King Oyo ascended the Tooro throne in 1995 and spent nearly his entire life as a monarch, making him an enduring figure of international curiosity and, to his people, a deeply personal loss. "He has died at age of 34 but impactful," said Rwomusha Ibanda Gerald, a Tooro prince. "Someone might die of 90, 80 but with little records — but at 34 years the record is immense."