Kampala  - The death toll from last week's riots in Uganda has risen to 21 with seven more people dying from bullet wounds over the weekend, a Ugandan government newspaper reported Monday.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Kampala on Thursday to protest a government move to block the visit of the king of the Baganda, the country's largest ethnic group, from visiting one of his territories north-east of the city.

Police fired tear gas and live bullets at the surging crowds when people barricaded the streets and burned tires, vehicles and several police units.

The riots, which spread throughout the towns in the Buganda kingdom, carried on for three days.

Some 82 people were injured and 550 arrested during the riots, Uganda's chief of police said on Saturday.

However, the state-run New Vision newspaper reported that close to 100 people were still in hospital, mostly with bullet wounds.

Police officials could not readily confirm the report, but the force's spokesperson Judith Nabakooba said that an opposition legislator had been arrested on Sunday night and would face charges of inciting the public to riot.

Traditional rulers were restored by President Yoweri Museveni's government in 1993 after their abolition during the mid-1960s. The kings are afforded only ceremonial roles.(dpa)

The Baganda people, with a population of nearly 10 million, have been feuding with Museveni for years. They want greater powers for their king and a return of all properties confiscated when kingdom rule was abolished.

The clashes were the deadliest between the monarchies and the central government since 1966, when Uganda was declared a republic.