A TV journalist is set to be crowned as king of a traditional monarchy
in Uganda
[September 29, 2026]
By RODNEY MUHUMUZA
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A journalist was on Tuesday set to be crowned as
the king of a traditional monarchy that lost its onetime “boy king” last
month, triggering widespread grief and a succession dispute in Uganda’s
Tooro Kingdom.
The journalist is a prince who had long been employed as a broadcaster
and editor with Uganda Broadcasting Corp. He picked the regnal name of
Edward Rukidi Nyabongo. He performed rituals overnight, was ushered into
the palace and will be formally unveiled to his followers later on
Tuesday.
Traditional kingdoms were banned in the 1960s, after Uganda's
independence from British colonial rule, by a republican president who
said that he wanted to unify the country. They were restored in 1993.
Traditional leaders don't wield any formal authority in this East
African country and are legally barred from engaging in partisan
politics. But they wield immense authority among their people as
guardians of traditional culture.
The coronation ceremony in Fort Portal, a remote town in western Uganda
and not far from the Congo border, will be watched by thousands in
person and on televised broadcasts.
Nyabongo pledged unity in an interview with the local New Vision
newspaper before his coronation, saying also that “heritage must be
matched by discipline and hard work. My family never let me treat royal
descent as an entitlement; it was presented to me as a duty to prepare
for.”
He wasn't particularly high in the line of succession, but elders within
the kingdom’s ruling clan, known as the Babiito, selected him from a
pool of eligible princes after King Oyo Nyimba’s death from cancer at
age 34 in August without a publicly known heir.
The queen mother, Best Kemigisa, disputed that decision and charged that
the written will of King Oyo hadn't been followed in the selection of
Nyabongo.
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 Kemigisa said that Oyo left behind a
young son whose identity would be unveiled at the right time,
casting doubt on the legitimacy of Nyabongo and the decision of the
Babiito to choose him. Local media cited disagreeable scenes —
including a brief disagreement over custody of the king’s remains —
at Oyo’s Sept. 12 funeral.
Although Oyo’s alleged son has yet to be revealed,
purported photos of a “Baby Oyo” have flooded social media, giving
hope to devotees of the deceased monarch. But critics say that the
child, if he exists, should have been introduced to the kingdom's
elders while his father was still alive.
“They have demonstrated that these are the norms of the kingdom,”
Nicholas Sengoba, a prominent political analyst in Uganda, said of
the Babiito's selection of Nyabongo. “Many of these positions may
not be popular.”
Oyo was crowned in 1995, at the age of 3, after his father’s death.
He was a curious child in colorful robes and an object of adoration
for his hundreds of thousands of followers.
At his coronation, he went through a series of tribal rituals and
was led into the royal cemetery to perform a coming-of-age ceremony:
successfully tossing nine coffee beans into his father’s tomb.
Oyo once held the unofficial title of the world’s youngest king, a
mesmerizing figure even for world leaders introduced to him at
national events, including South Africa’s Nelson Mandela. Libyan
leader Moammar Gadhafi was one of those who befriended the Tooro
royal family as if they were part of his extended family. Gadhafi
made multiple trips to Uganda and supported Oyo and Kemigisa for
years before Gadhafi’s death in October 2011.
Oyo was guided by regents appointed by the kingdom until he became
an adult at 18.
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