Uganda: World's 'youngest monarch' dies aged 34

Oyo Nyimba, a Ugandan king of the traditional pre-colonial kingdom of Tooro, has died aged just 34, the prime minister of Tooro announced late on Thursday.

"It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that I announce the passing of His Majesty Omukama of Tooro, King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV," Tooro's regional leader Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki said on social media.

Uganda is a republic, ruled by a parliament and a nominally-elected head of state, longstanding President Yoweri Museveni , who's been in power since 1986.

But the country retains several traditional monarchies that still preside over their kingdoms as they were constituted in the pre-colonial period. Their power is largely symbolic but they wield considerable cultural and social influence.

Although they were banned after independence from British colonial rule in 1962 by a republican president who said he wanted to unify the nascent country, Museveni reinstated the traditional monarchs in 1993.

Oyo Nyimba was arguably the most recognizable among them, not least because of his unusual story, taking the throne at the age of just 3 in 1995.

Regional leader Akiiki said that the king had died late on Thursday, without giving a cause of death. He said an official statement with further details, including the funeral and mourning arrangements, would follow later.

He called on the people of Tooro to "remain united, calm and prayerful during this difficult time."