Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma has been crowned king of Uganda’s Tooro kingdom.

The new monarch has long been a familiar face in the East African nation, where for many he was known not as the heir to the throne, but as a storyteller: a long-serving anchor and editor at the state broadcaster.

But the 56-year-old – now King Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma Nyabongo I – has become the subject of media attention himself as his rise to the Tooro throne sparked controversy and widespread reactions beyond the country.

Tooro is one of Uganda’s four main officially recognised historical kingdoms. For the last 31 years, it had been headed by King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, who was once known as a “boy king”, after ascending to the throne as an infant.

Oyo became king in 1995 at the age of just three, following the death of his father. Then the world’s youngest monarch, he ruled until he died last month from cancer, aged just 34.

The coronation is a day for celebration, involving traditional practices that started at midnight.

Kijanangoma has had to perform various ceremonies and walk about 4km (2.5 miles) to the official Karuziika royal palace where he has now been crowned.

The Tooro kingdom’s Information Minister Charles Mwanguhya told the BBC Focus on Africa podcast that a mock fight would follow his crowning, to signify that kingship does not come easy.

Kijanangoma would then be blessed by members of the royal Babiito clan, he said.

But his selection was far from straightforward.

According to tradition, a recognised son of the late king should have succeeded him. Close members of the royal family said Oyo had left a young son and a will with instructions that the child should be next on the throne.

But the son has never been revealed to the public and nor was he recognised by the committee of 21 Babiito clan members who choose the king and eventually selected Kijanangoma.

The late King Oyo was never publicly married, and little is known about his wife or their son.

Nonetheless his mother, Queen Best Kemigisa, argued that the late king’s will ought to have been respected.

However, the royal succession committee ignored her wishes, insisting their selection process was conducted in accordance with Tooro customs and traditions.

The new king has thus found himself at the centre of a succession dispute, with Kemigisa and her close relatives unhappy with the outcome.