Govind TekaleOyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, the Omukama of Uganda’s Tooro kingdom in the west of the country, died on Thursday night at age 34. The cause was not disclosed.
The Tooro Prime Minister, Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki, announced the death late Thursday on social media.
Oyo ascended to the throne at age 3 in September 1995, after the death of his father, Rukirabasaija Patrick David Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III. He was crowned as the 13th monarch of the Tooro kingdom at age 18 in 2010. Guinness World Records recognized him as the world’s youngest reigning monarch.
Oyo took the throne as a child in 1995 and was crowned as an adult in 2010, when he reached the age of 18.
The Tooro kingdom, founded in the early 19th century, encompasses about 2 million people in western Uganda, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The kingdom was constituted in the pre-colonial period. Oyo ruled over more than two million people as the 13th monarch of a line that began in the early 1800s. Uganda is a republic governed by President Yoweri Museveni. The country’s traditional kingdoms retain cultural influence but hold no political power.
The late king had not married, and officials said the succession is secured. Tooro kingdom officials stated that “continuity of the Crown is assured” after the king’s death.
Uganda’s opposition leader, Bobi Wine, posted condolences on social media. “Most devastating news! May His Majesty the King’s soul rest in eternal peace,” Wine wrote.
In recent months the king had been critically ill and was receiving treatment in the United States, according to Minister Balaam Barugahara.
The Tooro kingdom is one of Uganda’s traditional kingdoms. Its ruler holds the title Omukama. While these kingdoms have no formal political power in the republican system, they hold considerable cultural significance across the country. Uganda has faced other public-health emergencies in recent years, including an Ebola outbreak that tested the country’s response systems. The country has also pursued local industry, seen in Kiira Motors, Uganda’s answer to sustainable mobility.
