Kampala  - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday held talks with a tribal king nearly three weeks after the king's supporters rioted, leaving 27 dead and scores injured.

Museveni met Kabaka (king) Ronald Muwenda Mutebi at the presidential palace in the lake-side town of Entebbe. The talks were "fruitful," a brief statement from the monarchy said.

Thousands of people took to the streets in Kampala and other towns on September 10 to protest a government decision to block King Mutebi from visiting one of his counties to the north-east.

The government insisted that the king's safety was not assured due to the resistance to his visit by another smaller tribe living in the county and opposed to him.

Latest figures show that 27 people, including a baby, died mostly through bullet wounds, while 82 were injured in the unrest.

The ethnic Baganda, the country's largest tribe, are demanding more powers for their king and the return of millions of dollars' worth of properties, including large chunks of land that were confiscated by the government when the monarchies were abolished.  dpa