FORT PORTAL, Uganda: Uganda's Tooro Kingdom crowned a former television news anchor as its new king on September 29, ending a succession dispute that followed the death of the previous monarch.

Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, 56, became the 13th king of the Batooro people in a ceremony filled with traditional rituals. He succeeds King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who died of cancer last month at the age of 34.

Oyo Nyimba's death led to a dispute over who should inherit the throne. His mother, Best Kemigisa, said the late king had a previously undisclosed son who was entitled to become king.

Uganda is a constitutional republic led by an elected president. However, four pre-colonial kingdoms remain important symbols of cultural identity and heritage, even though they hold no political power.

A 21-member committee from the royal Babiito clan selected Kijanangoma, who is Oyo Nyimba's cousin. A person familiar with the succession dispute told Reuters that Uganda's central government supported the decision despite objections from the late king's mother.

Kijanangoma took the royal name Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I during the traditional ceremony in Fort Portal, the capital of Tooro. The ceremony included the slaughter of a bull and the sprinkling of a hen's blood.

Nyabongo I walked to Karuziika Palace between midnight and 3 a.m., then took part in a mock battle as part of the traditional process of claiming the crown.

Oyo Nyimba died in the United States on August 27 while receiving treatment for angiosarcoma, an aggressive form of cancer. He was buried at the Karambi Royal Tombs in Fort Portal on September 12.

He became internationally known in 1995, when he was crowned at the age of three following his father's death. Images of the young king wearing royal robes and a crown attracted widespread attention.

Nyabongo I previously worked as a news anchor and editor at Uganda's state broadcaster, UBC. Former colleagues described him as humble and down-to-earth.

People in Fort Portal prepared for the coronation by wearing traditional clothing and practicing songs and dances associated with the Tooro culture.

"Everyone in Fort Portal is happy because of this new king. We are preparing. Women are ironing their masuka. Men are ironing their kanzus," Tooro resident Elizabeth Kengonze said before the ceremony.

She said people were also practicing Amakondere, a form of traditional praise music, and expressed happiness that the coronation was helping younger people learn about Tooro culture.

Over the weekend, relatives gathered at Karuziika Palace, the new king's home, with traditional drummers and dancers wearing calabashes and orange bark-cloth shawls.

The coronation went ahead despite objections from Oyo Nyimba's mother and his sister, Princess Ruth Komuntale. They said the late king had left behind a young son and a will naming the child as his heir.

Oyo Nyimba was not married and had not been publicly known to have children. The kingdom's prime minister first mentioned the child in a statement announcing the king's death.

Charles Kayondo Kamurasi, head of the royal Babiito clan and the traditional king-maker, said the clan had no knowledge of any child and had followed Tooro customs when choosing the new king.

"The child they are claiming to be there is not known," Kamurasi told the media last week.