Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Uganda’s King Oyo Nyimba was buried on Saturday as a dispute over who should succeed him deepened within the Tooro royal family and drew national attention. Oyo, who was once known as the world’s youngest monarch, died of cancer last month at the age of 34.
His burial came at the end of a nine-day mourning period and unfolded against an increasingly bitter debate over the next ruler of the Tooro Kingdom. The disagreement centres on whether Oyo left behind an heir and whether elders acted properly in naming a successor before the royal family had completed mourning.
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Oyo was buried beside his ancestors after an emotional funeral service at an Anglican cathedral in Fort Portal, a remote city near the Congo border. Elders of the Babiito, the kingdom’s ruling clan, said Oyo, who was unmarried, had never declared an heir to them. They challenged claims by others in the kingdom that he had left behind a son born out of wedlock.
The boy has not been publicly identified, prompting sensational claims on social media about at least two possible heirs said to be Oyo’s children. On Wednesday, a committee of Tooro elders said they had chosen a prince who works as a journalist to succeed Oyo. The decision was welcomed by traditionalists who want an adult on the throne, but it was criticised by Oyo’s closest relatives.
Oyo’s sister, Ruth Komuntale, said the announcement sought to “bring division and turmoil”. Queen Mother Best Kemigisa said in a statement that the succession row had undermined the family’s ability to mourn. “I also appeal to those fighting over the throne: please, there will be time for all of that,” she said. “Let us grieve and bury my son King Oyo.”
The succession issue could still end up in court after the family said Oyo had left behind a will that had been ignored by Tooro elders. Traditional monarchs in Uganda do not hold formal power, but they are widely respected. Although they are legally barred from engaging in partisan politics, they remain influential as guardians of tribal culture.
Oyo was crowned in 1995 at the age of three after the death of his father. At his coronation, he went through tribal rituals and was taken to the royal cemetery, where he completed a coming-of-age ceremony by tossing nine coffee beans into his father’s tomb. As a child monarch in colourful robes, he became an object of affection for hundreds of thousands of followers and was guided by regents until he turned 18.
He later held the unofficial title of the world’s youngest king and drew attention even from world leaders, including Nelson Mandela, who met him at national events. The late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi also developed close ties with the Tooro royal family and supported Oyo and his mother for years before his death in October 2011.
Tributes after Oyo’s death reflected the shock felt in Tooro and beyond. In a eulogy posted on X, analyst Timothy Kalyegira, who is from Tooro, wrote: “This is one of those deaths, the Bob Marley kind, that one never heals from. Not Oyo; not that likeable young man; not at 34. That’s what makes it so painful.”
Uganda’s traditional kingdoms were banned after independence by a republican president who said he wanted to unify the country, but they were restored in 1993. Oyo’s burial has now closed the formal mourning period, but the dispute over his successor remains unresolved and may yet move beyond the royal household and the elders.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
