\u00a0In the\u00a0Ugandan\u00a0newsroom where he appeared one day as an intern,\u00a0Zohran Mamdani\u00a0looked 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe told me himself: He had to go every evening and have a conversation with his dad about the current affairs of the day,\u201d recalled Angelo Izama, the journalist who was tasked with mentoring Mamdani in 2007 in the capital of his native Uganda, Kampala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mamdani wanted to be a \u201ctop reporter,\u201d which is how Izama recalled saving the young man\u2019s number in his cellphone. While sports was the teen\u2019s passion, he also \u201chad insatiable curiosity about the world\u201d around him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe was very, very curious as a young person,\u201d said Izama, who remained in touch with Mamdani for years after his months-long experience as a journalist. \u201cThis is something that will stay with him forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now the 34-year-old Mamdani, who has kept his Ugandan citizenship, could become New York City\u2019s first Muslim mayor and the first of Indian descent.\u00a0Tuesday is the final day of voting\u00a0as he faces Republican Curtis Sliwa and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Izama told The Associated Press he was not surprised by Mamdani\u2019s rise in U.S. politics and described him as a role model not just for fellow Ugandans and other Africans but young people everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s basically global, not so much Ugandan and not so much American,\u201d Izama said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mamdani was born in Kampala in 1991. His father is Mahmood Mamdani, a Columbia professor who taught for many years at Uganda\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 Mamdani\u2019s marriage, underscoring their Ugandan roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t just be proud of Mamdani,\u201d said Joseph Beyanga, a media manager who is among those who mentored Mamdani at the Daily Monitor. \u201cWe should be very excited.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beyanga said he felt \u201cchallenged\u201d by Mamdani\u2019s ambition, calling it a civic lesson for young Africans who feel alienated from politics as\u00a0aging leaders are accused of overstaying their time in power. They include Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who has led the country since 1986.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Izama said Mamdani \u201cbrings a role-model charge that would electrify Africa, which is full of talent,\u201d adding that \u201cthere is reason for us to be very proud.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mamdani\u2019s\u00a0win over Cuomo\u00a0in the Democratic mayoral primary\u00a0sent a shockwave through the political world. 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His candidacy has attracted the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump, who alleged without evidence that Mamdani was in the U.S. \u201cillegally.\u201d Some Republicans have called for Mamdani\u2019s denaturalization and deportation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet Mamdani\u2019s rocketing success would not be easily replicated in Uganda, said Nicholas Sengoba, an independent political analyst in Kampala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His rise shows \u201cthat America is a land of opportunity for the free and the brave,\u201d he said. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0In the\u00a0Ugandan\u00a0newsroom where he appeared one day as an intern,\u00a0Zohran Mamdani\u00a0looked 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. \u201cHe told me himself: He had to go every evening and have a conversation with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,15],"tags":[7,26,25],"class_list":{"0":"post-40624","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-politics","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-politics"},"yoast_head":"\n