Opinion:Bigmanism and why our country is always let down by those we honour

Each day that passes by marks a new day in your life and on a daily basis governments keep striving to make sure that you are always secure as a citizens. This is done by coming up with good policies that can help you enjoy your country.

A lot of good policies have been formulated in this country but some have failed to work just because of the big man tendencies that are being brought about by a few officials in this country.

Personally, I refer the big-man syndrome to the dominance of one individual or group of individuals who strive to exert or achieve absolute control over others.

In this country, the big men are rich and powerful men with lots of connections. Big men in this country are those that do things that are contrary to the laws and get away with it without being lawfully handled and this is a privilege that an ordinary person cannot get.

Their wealth, power and influence raise them above the law and this has been the perception of many Ugandan politicians and those who are wealthy.

On many occasions, a society that displays this big-man syndrome suffers from corruption, insecurity and many other issues that hinder development .

Therefore there is usually lack of democratic decision-making mechanisms characterized by a lack of transparency, misuse of funds and a concentrated power structure that depends on the big man of the community.

For sure, as Ugandans, we have to come to terms with some hard truths about some issues happening in our country before it’s all being eaten up by this evil called “we are above the law”.

We have allowed our criminal justice system to get out of balance, and I hope that the calamities happening in this country give us the opportunity to come together as a nation to find our balance again and do things the right way.

I have heard about several tragedies happening at night in this country yet there is curfew that was installed but it is not even abided to by the Big men of this country.

All their bars, clubs and eating places are always open throughout yet very many other law abiding citizens are suffering back at their homes because they cannot open up their bars just because of the restrictions that were put in place.

You hear of people grabbing other people’s land, you hear of those mistreating others because they have money, you hear of people dying in saunas, you hear of people being bombed at 9pm while they are merry-making, you hear of people who get accidents late at midnight because they were drunk and this really surprises some of us who are always humble and abiding by the law. And some of these happen during curfew.

So, Police, should we all become big men and have those privileges of being above the law? This selective application of the law isn’t good at all, you find someone leaving a taxi park at 10pm and you arrest him/her but you pass by a club with cars parked allover and you just ignore applying the very law you use on the ordinary people.

Buildings are falling every other day in this country but we never come to conclusions of who the planners of those buildings are, we even never hear any court cases apprehending owners of such buildings, the city authority that authorizes construction of such buildings also just goes silent because the building owners are big men in this country.

Unfairness is not unavoidable. Some of the social gaps we see today may stem from the legacy of segregation and discrimination. But we do not have to spread them, and we do not have to give into them. The choices we make as leaders or policy makers in government matter a lot.

Guidelines matter. Standards matter. Everyone in every community benefits when there is respect for the law and when everyone in every community is respected by the law equally.

All over the country, there are very many government departments proving that communities are safer when there is trust and respect between leaders, security agencies and the ordinary people.

I am not writing this to report anyone or discredit anyone’s work but I mean our security organs can still apply the law effectively on all Ugandans and reduce crime without relying on unnecessary force or excessive incarceration.

There are many security officers every day inspiring trust and confidence, honorably doing their duty, putting themselves on the line to save lives and put the law to use without being bribed and we also have those that have decided to have their life on bribes and that’s why you all see that very many bars and clubs are operating yet others are not, it’s because the bar owners are big men in government, soldiers or rich men who everyone fears because they are sometimes above the law.

The idea of the rule of law has been around for a very long time. Many societies, including our own, have established institutions and measures to try and make the rule of law a reality.

These institutions and measures have contributed to the definition of what makes up the rule of law and what is necessary to achieve it so it’s at this moment that they need to come into force and ACT, these institutions are the Anti-Corruption Unit, CID and others that are responsible.

If a selected few people are acting centrally why can’t the Anti-corruption Unit come in? is its role to only arrest those misusing government funds or it’s also supposed to go beyond that and make sure that some laws and rules are enforced.

My observation is that the rule of law is more of an ideal that we strive to achieve, but sometimes fail to live up to just because a few individuals who are against development.

Law enforcement should be everyone's concern in the country no matter the status because whether rich, educated, illiterate, or very ordinary, we are all Ugandans and we should abide by the laws in place.

Our law enforcement officials, in turn, must recognize that the country has a legitimate interest in law enforcement policies and performance.

We can stand up together as Ugandans and say no to this BIGMAN SYNDROME that is eating up our country and our government should serve and protect all of its people. Our country will continue to flourish and abide by the laws if we are all considered as Ugandans no matter our statuses.

Michael Woira is a patriotic Ugandan