King Oyo Nyimba of Uganda, 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.

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.

The king died at around 10:00 p.m. local time on Thursday, Akiiki said, without revealing the cause of his death.

Rukidi IV was crowned at just three years old on September 12, 1995 after the death of his father, Rukirabasaija Patrick David Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III.

Balaam Barugahara, a minister in the government of President Yoweri Museveni, said shortly before the announcement of the king's death that he was receiving treatment in the U.S.

"This is an immeasurable loss," the prime minister said, adding the king, who was unmarried, had left an heir and that "continuity of the Crown is assured."

His death triggered an outpouring of grief across social media platforms in Uganda and widespread media coverage nationally.

"Most devastating news! May His Majesty the King's soul rest in eternal peace," Bobi Wine, Ugandan pop star-turned-politician who is the country's leading opposition leader, said in a post on X.

In April, in a message to celebrate the King's birthday, Tooro's prime minister had said: "Our King is not distant from the realities of his people; he is part of this generation, part of this ecosystem, growing, learning, and leading... His youth is not a limitation; it is a strength. It brings energy, fresh perspective, and the courage to imagine a different future for Tooro."

-Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Alexandra Hudson/Reuters