The 19th-Century Scottish writer, historian, and philosopher Thomas Carlyle originated the ‘Great Man’ theory. The theory argues that history is ‘shaped by the actions of exceptional individuals with innate, heroic qualities, rather than by social or environmental forces.’
Popularised in his 1840 lectures, published as On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History, the theory suggests that leaders are ‘born, not made,’ and their superior attributes and will have a decisive, historical effect.
This argument has proven to be problematic by the way it ignores exogenous forces, which animate social realities. Indeed, these forces compose the anti-heroic traits in society, which give rise to superstition, stupidity, vanity, ignorance, vengeance, betrayal, dishonesty, violence among others.
The theory also finds little utility in timing, which is essential for political ascendancy. To be sure, if President Museveni had chosen to go to the bush in 1985 instead of 1981, we could be paying allegiance to Milton Obote’s heir as rebel Museveni cools off somewhere in The Hague.
In Uganda, however, politics subsists on the ‘Great Man’ theory. All the political leaders who have national appeal are viewed by their followers as indispensable to decisive leadership.
President Museveni, for one, is widely credited with restoring peace and security to Uganda after years of civil war and the brutal regimes of Idi Amin and Milton Obote in the 1970s and early 1980s. A cult of personality has grown around him, deifying his every utterance or action (even inaction).
President Museveni’s current adversary, Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, frequently comes across as more cult than political leader.
He gained a large following as a musician and was nicknamed the ‘Ghetto President’ for his music that resonates with the struggles of the masses.
Although Ugandan voters prefer looking for better leaders than becoming better followers, there seems to be a nigh imperceptible shift towards the opposite of the Great Man ethos in our politics.
The Antihero Theory
This theory defines ‘a character who subverts traditional heroic archetypes by lacking conventional heroic qualities like courage or a strong moral compass, often acting for selfish reasons, and making morally ambiguous choices. These characters can be cynical, reckless, and flawed, but the audience often relates to them because of their relatability and their struggle against a flawed world’.
It seems to be gaining traction as we witness the rise of Mubarak Munyagwa, currently serving as the president and presidential candidate for the newly-established Common Man’s Party (CMP) in the upcoming 2026 General Election. He has created excitement with his comic timing instead of his heroic pacing.
‘Common Man’s Party is like a submarine. When a submarine moves, you only see the small periscope above the water, yet it is huge inside. Common Man’s Party will surprise many people,’ he said while barnstorming.
He added: ‘We shall ban Swahili as our national language… we need French instead. French has a wider coverage: Burundi, Congo, Rwanda, Gabon, and the Central African Republic speak French. We need English and French.’
The CMP president might have a point about French, but he forgot to mention Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Mali, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire as well as Chad as Francophone countries. He also forgot to mention that those countries speak French because they were either colonised or influenced by imperialism.
Thus his stance on our lingua franca implies that the submarine he claims his party is maybe a French submarine such as nuclear-powered Suffren-class and the Le Triomphant-class nuclear ballistic missile submarines, potentially torpedoing Ugandan independence with not so much as a ‘Bon Voyage.’
In a humorous exchange, Muhoozi Kainerugaba himself tweeted: ‘Hahaha!’ He accompanied the ‘Hahaha!’ with three laughing emojis for good measure, before adding: ‘Honourable Mubarak Munyagwa should relax!
The Muhoozi army will not arrest him when we are in command.’ To which Mr Munyagwa reportedly replied that he would not return the compliment and would arrest Muhoozi as soon as he (Munyagwa) is ‘in charge.’
Lootocracy dynamics
Then we have Abraham Luzzi, Kampala Central MP candidate. He has a masterplan to save Uganda from the lootocracy that has given our national purse strings enough rope to hang us with. The masterplan introduces the death penalty by hanging for anyone found guilty of ‘causing gross public financial loss or embezzlement of public funds. This includes offences such as deliberate contract delays, bribery in awarding tenders or contracts, or any form of mismanagement of public funds.’
The message is clear: the fight against corruption requires responsibility and accountability from every citizen like never before. Consequently, Mr Luzzi has quickly become one of the most talked-about political figures in Kampala. Entrepreneurs like Amos Wekesa have given him the non-National Resistance Movement thumbs up for being ‘logical’, as many others follow suit by paying court to Luzzi’s politics.
Mr Luzzi’s transformative manifesto is built on six pillars: zero-tolerance anti-corruption policy; minimum wage and employment protection; public sector professionalisation; local business empowerment; fast and fair justice system; urban economic transformation. Mr Luzzi’s focus on corruption control, fair wages, efficient governance, and local business empowerment has sparked hope among youth, professionals, and business leaders.
Still, on his X handle, he declared: ‘Even if you abuse me or vote me out, your struggles will persist, and I’ll keep thriving. Nonsense! I will not kneel for any voter!’
He added: ‘I have chosen a digital approach because I don’t want people to gather, some come with diseases, and others start begging.’ Incidentally, Mr Luzzi is an Italian surname with several possible meanings, most commonly linked to the Latin word lux, meaning ‘light’. This implies that he could be providing his followers the vision so that they do not rely on his vision.
This is a dramatic departure from the ‘big man syndrome,’ describing a style of leadership characterised by a single leader’s omnipotence, personal rule, and dominance over state institutions. It is prevalent in Africa and complements the Great Man theory.
The fact that people are paying attention to Mr Luzzi as he defies this syndrome is indicative of an antihero switch in our politics.
Elections in Uganda
Although Ugandan voters prefer looking for better leaders than becoming better followers, there seems to be a nigh imperceptible shift towards the opposite of the Great Man ethos in our politics.