KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) 鈥� In the newsroom where he appeared one day as an intern, looked shy and unassuming. His father had arranged for him to spend time at the Daily Monitor newspaper with hope that the teenager would show more interest in current affairs.
鈥淗e told me himself: He had to go every evening and have a conversation with his dad about the current affairs of the day,鈥� recalled Angelo Izama, the journalist who was tasked with mentoring Mamdani in 2007 in the capital of his native Uganda, Kampala.
Mamdani wanted to be a 鈥渢op reporter,鈥� which is how Izama recalled saving the young man鈥檚 number in his cellphone. While sports was the teen’s passion, he also 鈥渉ad insatiable curiosity about the world鈥� around him.
鈥淗e was very, very curious as a young person,鈥� said Izama, who remained in touch with Mamdani for years after his months-long experience as a journalist. 鈥淭his is something that will stay with him forever.鈥�
Now the 34-year-old Mamdani, who has kept his Ugandan citizenship, could become New York City鈥檚 first Muslim mayor and the first of Indian descent. as he faces Republican Curtis Sliwa and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent.
Izama told The Associated Press he was not surprised by Mamdani’s rise in U.S. politics and described him as a role model not just for fellow Ugandans and other Africans but young people everywhere.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 basically global, not so much Ugandan and not so much American,鈥� Izama said.
Mamdani was born in Kampala in 1991. His father is Mahmood Mamdani, a Columbia professor who taught for many years at Uganda鈥檚 top public college, Makerere University, and whose academic writings are influential in the field of postcolonial studies. His mother is filmmaker Mira Nair, whose work has been nominated for an Academy Award. He is an only child.
The Mamdanis split their time among the U.S., India and Uganda, where they have a hillside home in a wealthy area of Kampala. In July, the family gathered here to celebrate Zohran 惭补尘诲补苍颈鈥檚 marriage, underscoring their Ugandan roots.
Some Ugandans who have known Mamdani over the years say that while he may not be fluent in the local Luganda dialect, he understands the language and is proud of his local background.
鈥淲e shouldn鈥檛 just be proud of Mamdani,鈥� said Joseph Beyanga, a media manager who is among those who mentored Mamdani at the Daily Monitor. 鈥淲e should be very excited.鈥�
Beyanga said he felt 鈥渃hallenged鈥� by 惭补尘诲补苍颈鈥檚 ambition, calling it a civic lesson for young Africans who feel alienated from politics as . They include Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who has led the country since 1986.
Izama said Mamdani 鈥渂rings a role-model charge that would electrify Africa, which is full of talent,” adding that 鈥渢here is reason for us to be very proud.鈥�
Mamdani left Uganda as a child but regularly returned. He was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2018. Before he became a New York assemblyman in 2021, the self-described democratic socialist was a community organizer in the New York borough of Queens, helping vulnerable homeowners facing eviction.
惭补尘诲补苍颈鈥檚 in the Democratic mayoral primary . His campaign has focused on lowering the cost of living, promising free city buses, free childcare, a rent freeze for people living in rent-stabilized apartments and government-run grocery stores, all paid for with taxes on the wealthy.
His candidacy has attracted the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump, who alleged without evidence that Mamdani was in the U.S. 鈥渋llegally.鈥� Some Republicans have called for Mamdani’s denaturalization and deportation.
Meanwhile, former President Barack Obama has reportedly offered to be a sounding board for Mamdani, and endorsements have come in from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Yet 惭补尘诲补苍颈鈥檚 rocketing success would not be easily replicated in Uganda, said Nicholas Sengoba, an independent political analyst in Kampala.
His rise shows 鈥渢hat America is a land of opportunity for the free and the brave,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he irony is that in Uganda you would have to put in a big fight for it. You would have to blast your way into the door.鈥�
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