Journalist ascends to throne in Uganda kingdom after succession dispute

A journalist has been crowned king of Uganda’s Tooro Kingdom, becoming the 13th monarch of the Batooro people in a ceremony marking the end of a succession dispute. Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, a 56-year-old cousin of the late King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, was chosen by a 21-member committee from the royal Babiito clan. His selection was widely contested because he was not in the direct line of succession, and objections were raised by Oyo Nyimba’s mother, Best Kemigisa, and sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale, who claimed the late king left a young son and a will naming him as heir.