According to the BBC, Uganda's King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who was once the world's youngest reigning monarch, was buried on Saturday days after a dispute over who should succeed him. Oyo, 34, ruled the traditional kingdom of Tooro in western Uganda from the age of three and died last month while receiving cancer treatment in the United States.
Thousands of mourners lined the streets as his casket was taken to the royal tombs in Fort Portal for a private ceremony. TV presenter Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, 56, who was named by clan elders as the next monarch, reportedly cast nine coffee beans into Oyo's grave in a ritual marking the end of one reign and the start of another. But Oyo's family had earlier rejected Kijanangoma, his cousin, and Princess Ruth Komuntale said the late king left a 2022 will naming his young son as successor. The boy's identity has not been disclosed. Archbishop of the Church of Uganda Stephen Kazimba Mugalu and President Yoweri Museveni both called for unity, while the Babiito royal clan defended its choice of Kijanangoma.