A succession dispute has broken out in one of Uganda's traditional kingdoms after a claim emerged that a previously unknown candidate for the throne exists.

Uganda has several traditional kingdoms whose cultural status is recognised in the constitution. They exercise no political power but carry symbolic and cultural weight in their communities.

Succession is normally settled through royal custom and councils of elders. Where records and custom are read differently, disputes not uncommonly drag on.

In this case the party asserting a right of succession and those denying it are at odds, with the method of proving descent and the reach of such proof at issue.

The government has held that the matter is internal to the kingdom and has refrained from intervening, though administrative mediation could be sought if local tensions grow.

Succession in these kingdoms also touches the management of property and the right to preside over cultural events, so a prolonged dispute affects the running of associated institutions.