A traditional Ugandan kingdom selected a television news anchor on Wednesday (yesterday) to succeed King Oyo Nyimba, who died last month aged 34 after becoming the world’s youngest reigning monarch when he took the throne at age 3.
People&Politics had reported that king Oyo died on 27 August.
He was in the United States (US) receiving treatment for cancer before succumbing to the deadly ailment.
While Uganda is a constitutional republic, Oyo Nyimba ruled Tooro in western Uganda, one of the former British colony’s ancient kingdoms, which wield enormous cultural and social influence.
At a press conference in the kingdom’s capital of Fort Portal, the royal clan’s succession committee announced it chose Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a news anchor and editor at the state-run broadcaster UBC, as monarch.
Oyo Nyimba, a U.N. goodwill ambassador championing the fight against HIV and AIDS, became the youngest reigning monarch in 1995 when he was crowned at age 3, according to Guinness World Records.
A video of his coronation shows a little boy sitting in his chair playing with a toy, his small body almost disappearing underneath the royal crown and robes.
Kijanangoma’s selection contradicted an earlier announcement by the kingdom’s Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire, who said the unmarried Oyo Nyimba had left behind a child who was his heir.
Oyo Nyimba’s body was returned to Uganda from the US last Friday and preparations are under way for his burial on Saturday at the royal tombs near his palace in Fort Portal.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Prince Edward Kijanangoma.
