What Prince Andrew, a Ugandan general and Kim Jong-un have in common | Simon Tisdall

Dynasties distort open societies and should be resisted - yet succession has become an obsession for political families

For a top Ugandan general trained by the British army at Sandhurst, Muhoozi Kainerugaba is an unorthodox kind of guy. Last October he offered 100 cows as a bride price for Italy's prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. In another reportedly well-lubricated Twitter escapade, Muhoozi threatened to invade Kenya and conquer Nairobi, which led to his removal as commander of the Uganda People's Defence Force. Bizarrely, he was simultaneously promoted to four-star rank.

In other late-night online interventions, Muhoozi has backed Russia's invasion of Ukraine and praised Donald Trump as the only white man I have ever respected". He also has a much darker side. While leading the Special Forces Command, he was implicated in the abduction and torture of political opponents. In 2021, in a chilly echo of Idi Amin, he defended his right to take decisions after having woken up from a drunken stupor".