King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV of Tooro, who became the world’s youngest reigning monarch when he was crowned at the age of three, has died aged 34.
His kingdom’s prime minister, Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki, announced the death in a post on X late on Thursday. “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,” he wrote.
The king died at around 10:00 p.m. local time on Thursday. Akiiki did not disclose a cause. Shortly before the announcement, Balaam Barugahara, a minister in President Yoweri Museveni’s government, said the king had been receiving treatment in the United States.
Crowned at three
Rukidi IV was crowned on September 12, 1995, following the death of his father, Rukirabasaija Patrick David Matthew Kaboyo Olimi III. He assumed the full duties of the office at 18.
Tooro is a small kingdom in western Uganda, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Uganda is a republic led by an elected head of state, but several traditional monarchies survive within it, constituted as they were before colonial rule. Their political power is largely symbolic; their cultural and social influence is considerable.
The king was unmarried. The prime minister said he had left an heir and that “continuity of the Crown is assured”, calling the death “an immeasurable loss”.
Reaction in Uganda
The announcement prompted an outpouring of grief on Ugandan social media and extensive national coverage.
“Most devastating news! May His Majesty the King’s soul rest in eternal peace,” wrote Bobi Wine, the pop star turned politician who is Uganda’s leading opposition figure.
In a message marking the king’s birthday in April, Tooro’s prime minister had written: “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.”
The death is the second of a reigning monarch reported within a day, after Norway’s King Harald V died at 89 and was succeeded by his son as King Haakon VIII.
