American politician, Zohran Kwame Mamdani, born in Uganda to Indian-Ugandan parents, made history after winning New York City’s mayoral election over former Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa. He became the city’s first Muslim mayor, its first leader of South Asian descent, and the youngest to hold the office in over a century.
“The future is in our hands,” Mamdani proclaimed to a roaring crowd at the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre, his voice rising above cheers from a diverse coalition of young voters, immigrant workers, and democratic socialists.
“New York will remain a city of immigrants, built by immigrants… and as of tonight, led by an immigrant,” he added, his words a direct nod to the city’s 3.7 million foreign-born residents, including the East African cab drivers, and Ethiopian caregivers whom he named in his address.
The mayor-elect, born in Kampala’s Mulago Hospital in October 1991 to postcolonial scholar Mahmood Mamdani and Nair, lit up Uganda with his historic upset. The 34-year-old Democratic Socialist spent his earliest years in Uganda before his family fled during Idi Amin’s 1970s expulsion of Asians, although they later returned after Amin’s ouster.
Young Zohran lived there until age 5, when the family relocated to South Africa for his father’s academic post at the University of Cape Town. By age 7, they settled in New York, where Zohran schooled in public schools, graduating from the elite Bronx High School of Science.
He later earned a degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College, and in 2018, he became a United States citizen, although he still maintains his Ugandan citizenship.
His parents deeply engaged with African culture, politics, and identity, as a result choosing the Ghanian name “Kwame” for him to reflect their admiration for pan-African ideals. The name carries immense importance because of Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s independence leader and a symbol of African liberation.
The Mamdani family maintains a hillside home in Kampala’s popular Kololo neighborhood, a gathering spot for relatives. It was there, in July 2025, that Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, a Pakistani-American advocate, animator and illustrator, celebrated their marriage with a traditional nikah ceremony.
After his victory in New York, the Mamdani family home became a festive hub. Neighbours streamed in with sodas and chapati as relatives replayed clips of Mamdani’s victory speech on giant screens. “He left with a suitcase. He returns with a city,” said his 80-year-old grandmother, Amina Nair.
At Makerere University in Kampala, students rallied outside the Main Building. “Seeing Zohran up there, I feel like I can also make it,” psychology student Anthony Kirabo told Agence France-Presse. In Jinja, radio stations played Mamdani’s old tracks as ‘Young Cardamom.’ In 2016, under the moniker, Zohran collaborated with Ugandan rapper HAB on an EP titled Sidda Mukyaalo, which is Luganda for “No going back to the village”.
Uganda’s Daily Monitor published archival photos of Mamdani’s teenage internship. Editor Charles Onyango-Obbo said, “He was quiet but driven. We’re not surprised.” On X, #ZohranIsOurs topped Ugandan trends for 12 hours, with viral clips of northern schoolchildren mimicking his speech.
“We should allow young people the opportunity to shape, and participate in, politics in a meaningful way,” Robert Kabushenga, a retired media executive, and a friend of the Mamdani family, told the Associated Press.
Zohran will take office on January 1, 2026, with pledges to freeze rents, fund universal childcare, and raise minimum wage to $30/hour by 2030.
Written by Abeeb Lekan Sodiq
Abeeb Lekan Sodiq is a Managing Editor & Writer at theafricandream.net. He’s as well a Graphics Designer and also known as Arakunrin Lekan.
