Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja described him as a “symbol of unity” and praised his work raising awareness about HIV and Aids among young people.

Opposition MPs also paid tribute, with acting opposition leader Patrick Nsamba Oshabe saying: “Heritage and development were never rivals in his hands.”

President Museveni has ordered an official burial for the monarch and national flags will fly at half-mast for three days around the funeral.

On Wednesday, the Tooro kingdom’s Prime Minister, Calvin Armstrong Rwomiire Akiiki, said the king had asked officials not to disclose the seriousness of his illness because he believed he would recover and return to his people.

He said the monarch had hoped to return home for this year’s Empango – the annual celebration of his coronation – on 12 September.

“He was confident in his recovery,” Akiiki said.

His death has triggered uncertainty over the future of the monarchy as Oyo was not officially married.

But Akiiki has said the king had a young son, whose identity would be revealed later in accordance with Tooro customs.

President Museveni also said the king’s mother, Queen Best Kemigisa, had told him that her son had left an heir.

But Charles Kamurasi, who is head of the Babiito royal clan from which Tooro’s kings are chosen, said he knew nothing about the reported child, prompting an unusual public disagreement among senior figures in the kingdom.

Others within the royal clan have questioned why they were apparently unaware of the child.

“The prime minister is not supposed to talk about the king’s heir. It is a cultural process,” one royal clan member was quoted as saying by Uganda’s state-owned New Vision newspaper.

“How can we, blood relatives, not know of the child, and the prime minister says he knows? That is totally out of order,” the clan member added.

Akiiki has since appealed for the dispute to be dealt with privately, saying he wanted to meet other elders to resolve their differences.

“Words spoken in moments of grief can deepen divisions that may take years to repair,” he warned.