Journalist Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma Nyabongo II is due to be crowned king of Uganda’s Tooro kingdom, following the death of King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV last month. The appointment has prompted a bitter succession dispute, raising questions about who should inherit the throne and dividing members of the royal family.

Oyo, who became king aged three in 1995, reportedly left a young son and a will naming him as successor, but the child has not been publicly presented or recognised by the 21-member committee that selected Kijanangoma. Oyo’s mother, Queen Best Kemigisa, says the will should have been respected and that the dispute made it unsafe for the boy to return from Texas. Kijanangoma, 56, and Oyo were cousins and both descendants of King Rukidi III; under Tooro custom, the king must come from the ruling Babiito clan.