A TV journalist is crowned king of a traditional monarchy in Uganda

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A journalist on Tuesday was crowned king of a traditional monarchy that lost its onetime “boy king” last month, triggering widespread grief and a succession dispute in Uganda’s Tooro Kingdom.

The journalist is a prince who had long been employed as a broadcaster and editor with Uganda Broadcasting Corp. He picked the regnal name of Edward Rukidi Nyabongo. He performed rituals overnight, was ushered into the palace and was formally unveiled to his followers on Tuesday.

Traditional kingdoms were banned in the 1960s, after Uganda's independence from British colonial rule, by a republican president who said that he wanted to unify the country. They were restored in 1993.

Traditional leaders don't wield any formal authority in this East African country and are legally barred from engaging in partisan politics. But they wield immense authority among their people as guardians of traditional culture.

The coronation ceremony in Fort Portal, a remote town in western Uganda and not far from the Congo border, was watched by thousands in person and on televised broadcasts. Speaking at the event, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni urged traditional leaders to promote local languages.

In a brief speech at his coronation, Nyabongo pledged to be a unifying figure for all his people. Before his enthronement, the monarch told the local New Vision newspaper that “heritage must be matched by discipline and hard work. My family never let me treat royal descent as an entitlement; it was presented to me as a duty to prepare for.”

Nyabongo wasn't particularly high in the line of succession, but elders within the kingdom’s ruling clan, known as the Babiito, selected him from a pool of eligible princes after King Oyo Nyimba’s death from cancer at age 34 in August without a publicly known heir.

The queen mother, Best Kemigisa, disputed that decision and charged that the written will of King Oyo hadn't been followed in the selection of Nyabongo.

Kemigisa said that Oyo left behind a young son whose identity would be unveiled at the right time, casting doubt on the legitimacy of Nyabongo and the decision of the Babiito to choose him. Local media cited scenes of disagreement — including a brief squabble over custody of the king’s remains — at Oyo’s Sept. 12 funeral.

Although Oyo’s alleged son has yet to be revealed, purported photos of a “Baby Oyo” have flooded social media, giving hope to devotees of the deceased monarch. But critics say that the child, if he exists, should have been introduced to the kingdom's elders while his father was still alive.

“They have demonstrated that these are the norms of the kingdom,” Nicholas Sengoba, a prominent political analyst in Uganda, said of the Babiito's selection of Nyabongo. “Many of these positions may not be popular.”

Oyo was crowned in 1995, at the age of 3, after his father’s death. He was a curious child in colorful robes and an object of adoration for his hundreds of thousands of followers.

At his coronation, he went through a series of tribal rituals and was led into the royal cemetery to perform a coming-of-age ceremony: successfully tossing nine coffee beans into his father’s tomb.

Oyo once held the unofficial title of the world’s youngest king, a mesmerizing figure even for world leaders introduced to him at national events, including South Africa’s Nelson Mandela. Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was one of those who befriended the Tooro royal family as if they were part of his extended family. Gadhafi made multiple trips to Uganda and supported Oyo and Kemigisa for years before Gadhafi’s death in October 2011.

Oyo was guided by regents appointed by the kingdom until he became an adult at 18.

AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

People arrive for coronation ceremony of journalist Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma as king of Uganda's traditional Tooro Kingdom, in Fort Portal, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

Journalist Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, center, walks during his coronation as king of Uganda's traditional Tooro Kingdom, in Fort Portal, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

Journalist Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma during his coronation as king of Uganda's traditional Tooro Kingdom, in Fort Portal, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

Journalist Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, center, is coronated as king of Uganda's traditional Tooro Kingdom, in Fort Portal, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

Journalist Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma delivers a speech during his coronation as king of Uganda's traditional Tooro Kingdom, in Fort Portal, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)

CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) — Morocco's King Mohammed VI on Tuesday named Urban Planning Minister Fatima Zahra Mansouri as the country's prime minister, making the 50-year-old attorney the first woman to hold the position in the Muslim kingdom.

Mansouri, who until her nomination also was the mayor of Marrakech, was tasked with forming a new government, the Royal Palace said in a statement. The announcement came four days after results of parliamentary elections were announced, with Mansouri’s centrist Authenticity and Modernity Party, or PAM, the highest vote-getter.

Mansouri, the second woman to serve as prime minister in the Arab world after Najla Bouden in Tunisia, is expected to build a coalition in coming days to form a government. Morocco’s electoral system makes it difficult for a single party to win an absolute majority.

Her government is expected to make billions of dollars in investments linked to the 2030 FIFA World Cup, while seeking to deliver on promises to fight inflation, raise wages and create jobs.

The Moroccan Constitution gives the king, who is the country’s highest authority, the power to appoint the prime minister, but he must choose from the party that wins the most seats in parliamentary elections. That was a change successfully pushed by Arab Spring protesters in 2011. Before that, the king could name the prime minister without any such restriction.

Mansouri joined PAM upon its creation in 2008 by Fouad Ali El Himma, a childhood friend and close adviser to the king. A law graduate from the University of Montpellier in France, Mansouri became one of the party’s top leaders in 2024. She twice served as mayor of Marrakech and was a member of parliament.

Mansouri is the daughter of the “pasha of Marrakech” Abderrahmane El Mansouri, a senior local official who was also Morocco’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. He headed Marrakech’s bar association and was a landowner.

Mansouri faced accusations of conflict of interest after a group of unidentified hackers claimed she had used her position for personal gain regarding land transactions in Marrakech. Mansouri denied the allegations, called them defamatory and took legal action.

One million of the 15.8 million registered voters in last week’s election voted for the Authenticity and Modernity Party, marking its first win since its creation. The election was the first since the Ceuta migration crisis last July and deadly youth-led protests last year.

After the royal nomination, the focus shifts to the coalition that will form the next government. PAM has expressed its willingness to work with all parties, but some, including the moderate Islamist Justice and Development party and left-wing Federation of Democratic Left, have announced they will remain in the opposition.

A woman casts her vote inside a polling station during the legislative elections in Rabat, Morocco, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

People walk next to the walls of the old Medina on Rabat, Morocco, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)