Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York mayoral race has been met with a mix of inspiration and stark reality by Uganda’s political opposition.
Joel Ssenyonyi, an opposition leader representing a Kampala constituency, acknowledged the significance, stating: "It’s a big encouragement even to us here in Uganda that it’s possible.
“But we have a long way to get there."
This sentiment underscores the challenging political landscape in Uganda, where Mamdani was born in 1991.
President Yoweri Museveni, an authoritarian figure, has governed for nearly four decades and is seeking re-election in January.
His refusal to step down has fuelled concerns over a potentially volatile transition, with prominent challenger Bobi Wine alleging fraud in the 2021 election.
Mamdani, who was briefly raised in Uganda, retained his citizenship even after becoming a naturalised US citizen in 2018.
He followed his father, political theorist Mahmood Mamdani, to South Africa and later the United States. His mother is the Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Mira Nair.
The family maintains a residence in Kampala, returning regularly, including earlier this year for Mamdani's wedding.
The influence of his professor father
The elder Mamdani, a professor at Columbia University, is known as a demanding teacher and a key influence in the son’s outlook as a leading scholar in the field of postcolonial studies.
He has written critically of the Museveni government. His most recent book — Slow Poison, published in October by Harvard University Press — has juxtaposed the legacies of Museveni and late dictator Idi Amin, who is blamed for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Ugandans between 1971 and 1979.
He argues that both leaders made violence central to their success and that while Amin retained popular support and didn’t die a millionaire, Museveni's family is immensely wealthy while he's no longer popular.
Robert Kabushenga, a retired media executive who is friendly with the Mamdani family, said Zohran Mamdani, like his parents, is unconventional.
He “follows a tradition of very honest and clear thinkers who are willing to reimagine the politics,” said Kabushenga. “(His father) must be pleasantly surprised.”
Ugandans see hope in more youth joining politics
Mamdani's victory in New York offers “a beacon of hope” for embattled activists and others in Uganda. The lesson is that “we should allow young people the opportunity to shape, and participate in, politics in a meaningful way,” Kabushenga said.
Okello Ogwang, a professor of literature who has worked with the elder Mamdani at Uganda's Makerere University, said the son's success abroad means “it's an important thing that we should invest in the youth.”
“He's coming from here,” he said. “If we don't invest in our youth, we are wasting our time.”
As a shy and soft-spoken teenager, Mamdani was briefly interested in a possible career as a newsman and later was part the rap ensemble Young Cardamom and HAB, whose eccentric music videos set in Kampala can still be viewed online.
Before he became a New York assembly member in 2021, the self-described democratic socialist was a community activist in the New York borough of Queens, helping vulnerable homeowners facing eviction.
His mayoral campaign, whose success in the Democratic primary sent a shockwave through the political world, focused on lowering the cost of living, promising free city buses, free child care, a rent freeze for people living in rent-stabilized apartments and government-run grocery stores, all paid for with taxes on the wealthy.
Some Republicans have called for his denaturalization and deportation.
“He breaks new ground,” said Kabushenga. “He is willing to try in places that are new.”
Ssenyonyi, the Ugandan lawmaker, said Mamdani’s unlikely victory, as remote for Ugandans as it seems, deserves to be celebrated. “It inspires us,” he said. “Mamdani is Ugandan-born, like us.”
‘Just like in London, hope won’: Khan celebrates Mamdani’s NYC mayoral victory
Trump damaged as Mamdani’s NYC mayor win tops huge night for Democrats: Live
Five big takeaways from Democrats’ blue tsunami election that should worry Trump
What Zohran Mamdani’s wife has said about Gaza and ICE as he’s elected NYC mayor
Zohran Mamdani’s policies, from Trump and ICE to Israel
Trump admin blows up another boat it claims was carrying narcotics and kills two men
