Royal family rift after popular TV news presenter chosen to succeed Ugandan king

A bitter succession dispute has erupted in the Tooro Kingdom, days before the burial of its late king, who was the world's youngest reigning monarch at the time of his death. King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who ruled the kingdom for over three decades, died last month at the age of 34 while undergoing cancer treatment in the US. Royal clan elders have named popular TV news presenter Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, 56, as the next monarch, but this decision has been rejected by Oyo's close family. His sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, said the late king had left a will written in 2022 naming his young son, who has never been publicly disclosed, as his successor. Queen Best Kemigisa, the late king's mother, has appealed for the family to be allowed to bury their son in peace, stating that the current situation is 'house arrest' due to the royal guards being withdrawn and soldiers being deployed. The situation has led to thousands of mourners attending the burial at the royal tombs near the palace in Fort Portal in western Uganda, where preparations for the funeral are underway. Tooro is one of Uganda's traditional kingdoms, and its monarch has no formal political authority but remains an important cultural figure in western Uganda. The kingdom was restored in the 1990s under President Yoweri Museveni, and their monarchs are recognized as cultural leaders rather than political rulers.