Uganda's King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, once recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's youngest reigning monarch, was buried on Saturday at the Karambi Royal Tombs in Fort Portal, the capital of the Tooro kingdom in western Uganda — even as a bitter dispute over who should succeed him cast a shadow over the ceremony. Thousands of mourners lined the streets as the king's casket was transported through the city, and his appointed successor, television news anchor Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, cast nine coffee berries into the grave — a ritual signifying the end of one reign and the beginning of another.

Oyo, who died last month at the age of 34 while receiving cancer treatment in the United States, had captured global attention in 1995 when, at just three years old, he was crowned king of Tooro, a traditional kingdom in a country that is otherwise a republic with an elected head of state. Uganda abolished its traditional kingdoms in 1967 but restored them in the 1990s; their monarchs hold no formal political power but are regarded as guardians of cultural identity and heritage. Beyond his ceremonial role, Oyo served as a United Nations goodwill ambassador championing the fight against HIV and Aids. At a church service before the burial, his sister Princess Ruth Komuntale remembered him as someone who "never completely lost the young boy who loved to have fun."

The burial took place 31 years to the day after Oyo's coronation, but was preceded by days of acrimony within the royal family. A selection committee from the Babiito royal clan chose Kijanangoma, 56, a news anchor and editor at state broadcaster UBC and a cousin of the late king, as his successor. However, Oyo's immediate family rejected the decision, with Princess Ruth stating that Oyo had left a will, written in 2022, naming his biological son as heir — a child whose identity has never been publicly disclosed and whose existence was unknown before the kingdom's prime minister mentioned him in the announcement of Oyo's death. Supporters of Kijanangoma's claim say the royal family has failed to produce basic information about the child. Queen Mother Best Kemigisa went further, alleging that royal guards had been replaced by soldiers and that the family was effectively under house arrest, unable to leave the palace or receive visitors freely.

Ugandan authorities are reported to have backed Kijanangoma's succession. President Yoweri Museveni called for the matter to be resolved in favour of unity, while the head of the Babiito clan, Omusuuga Charles Karumasi, insisted that the selection had followed Tooro custom and tradition. The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu, urged restraint among mourners. "Words spoken in grief can cause pain, division and conflict," he told the congregation. "It can even destroy the legacy of the king we are mourning."

The dispute echoes the circumstances of Oyo's own accession, which was also settled through a prolonged succession battle that ended in court. The new king, Kijanangoma — described by colleagues as quiet and humble — will inherit not only the throne but also a substantial royal estate, including extensive landholdings and significant financial transfers from the central government. Whether the kingdom can move past the current crisis without lasting division remains an open question.