A veteran Ugandan journalist is set to be crowned king of the country's Tooro kingdom, capping a remarkable personal transformation that has thrust him into the centre of one of the most acrimonious royal succession disputes the East African nation has seen in decades.
Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma Nyabongo I, aged 56, will ascend to the throne in ceremonies that begin at midnight and continue through the day, according to the kingdom's information minister, Charles Mwanguhya. The new monarch is expected to walk approximately 4km (2.5 miles) to the official Karuziika royal palace, where the crowning will take place.
For most Ugandans, Kijanangoma was a familiar figure not as a royal heir but as a storyteller and a long-serving anchor and editor at the state broadcaster. His elevation to the throne has turned him from a person who reported the news into its subject, generating widespread reaction both inside Uganda and beyond.
Tooro is one of four historical kingdoms officially recognised in Uganda, and it has been led for the past 31 years by King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who took the throne as an infant in 1995 following the death of his father. At the age of three, he was then the world's youngest reigning monarch and became widely known as the "boy king". He died last month from cancer at the age of just 34.
The coronation ceremony incorporates a series of deeply symbolic traditional rites. According to Mwanguhya, who spoke to the BBC Focus on Africa podcast, a mock fight forms part of the proceedings to convey the message that kingship does not come easily. The new king is then blessed by members of the royal Babiito clan before performing further ceremonies that formally mark his assumption of the throne. The ritual concludes with him sitting on the throne and having an actual crown placed on his head, signifying his new authority and position as the new Tooro king.
However, the path to the crown was anything but smooth. According to tradition, a recognised son of the late king should inherit the throne. Close members of the royal family have said that Oyo left behind a young son and a will containing instructions that the child should be his successor. Yet that son has never been publicly revealed, nor was he recognised by the committee of 21 Babiito clan members who are responsible for choosing the king and who ultimately settled on Kijanangoma.
The late King Oyo was never publicly married, and very little is known about his wife or their son. His mother, Queen Best Kemigisa, has argued forcefully that the late king's will should have been respected. The succession committee, however, disregarded her position, maintaining that its selection process was carried out in line with Tooro customs and traditions.
Kemigisa has described Kijanangoma's selection as the "announcement of a second king" made after the will of King Oyo had been read to members of the royal family. She said the experience had been "extraordinarily painful" as a mother, noting that celebrations for the next king took place only metres from where her son's body lay. She also said Oyo's son, who was in the US state of Texas, had been due to return home, but that the plan could not proceed amid what she called a "tense and polarised succession dispute". In a post on X, she insisted that no child should be placed in circumstances where returning to his father's homeland could mean being drawn into hostility and conflict.
The kingdom's information minister has offered a different perspective. Mwanguhya told the BBC that the son being spoken of "hasn't been presented anywhere", which he said reflects a growing acceptance that, however sad it may be, King Oyo did not leave a son behind.
Mwanguhya also noted that while King Oyo inherited the crown from his father, the crown has now moved to a different line within the ruling clan. According to royal palace sources, a king must come from the Babiito clan and specifically from the lineage of King George David Matthew Kamurasi Rukidi III. Both Kijanangoma and the late King Oyo are cousins and grandsons of Rukidi III, the 11th king, or Omukama, who ruled Tooro from 1928 to 1965.
Kijanangoma was one of several candidates considered for the role. Among them was Prince George Desmond Kamurasi, who plays football for one of the UK's best-known amateur clubs. According to the succession committee, the South East Dons captain and goalkeeper declined the offer of the throne, citing other responsibilities.
After his formal announcement, Kijanangoma promised that the palace would be open to the people and vowed to prioritise unity and development. "I ask you for one thing - they have given me this title as king but I cannot work alone, I have to work with you," he said, striking a conciliatory tone as he prepared to assume leadership of a kingdom divided over his selection.
Uganda's traditional kings hold no formal political authority, but they retain considerable cultural influence and command significant loyalty among the communities they lead. President Yoweri Museveni restored the traditional kingdoms in the 1990s, and he was pictured with Tooro's King Oyo in 2010 wearing ceremonial headgear of the kingdom. The country is home to four main kingdoms, with Tooro among the most historically significant. The dispute surrounding Kijanangoma's rise underscores the enduring emotional and cultural weight of royal succession in Uganda, even where the monarchy wields no official governing power.
As the ceremonies unfold, the new king inherits not only a crown and a palace but also the challenge of healing divisions within the royal family and winning over those who believe the late king's wishes were set aside. How he addresses that task may well define the early years of his reign.
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