Ugandan King Oyo Nyimba, once world’s youngest monarch, dies at 34

KAMPALA — Oyo Nyimba, a Ugandan king who became the world’s youngest ​reigning monarch when he took the crown in 1995, has died aged 34, the prime minister of his kingdom announced.

KAMPALA — Oyo Nyimba, a Ugandan king who became the world’s youngest ​reigning monarch when he took the crown in 1995, has died aged 34, the prime minister of his kingdom announced.

Uganda is a republic, ruled by an elected head of state, but it has several ⁠traditional monarchies that still preside over their kingdoms as they were constituted in the pre-colonial period.

Their political power is largely symbolic, but they wield enormous cultural and social influence.

Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV was the King of Tooro, a small kingdom ⁠in Uganda’s west near the border with ​the Democratic ⁠Republic of Congo.

“It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that I announce the passing of His Majesty the Omukama ⁠of Tooro, King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV,” the prime minister of ​the kingdom, ⁠Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki, said ‌in a post on X late on Thursday.