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Zohran Mamdani takes family trip to Uganda

Zohran Mamdani takes family trip to Uganda

Politico20-07-2025
Mamdani, who was born and raised in Kampala, is a dual citizen of Uganda and the U.S., according to The New York Times . His father's side of the family belongs to a community of East Africans that have lived in the region for generations and are originally from the Indian state of Gujarat. After Uganda, Mamdani moved with his family to South Africa and then finally to New York at the age of seven.
Mamdani said he would be back in the city by the end of the month. He was legally married to his wife Rama Duwaji in New York City in February. The two also celebrated their marriage in Dubai in December.
The mayoral nominee's announcement of the overseas trip comes after the candidate told voters, 'I would stay in New York City' when he was asked in the first primary debate what his first international trip would be as mayor.
'My plans are to address New Yorkers across the five boroughs and focus on that,' Mamdani said.
He was one of the only candidates on the stage to say he would not visit Israel as mayor. He has also said he wasn't sure if Israel would allow him entry given his history of supporting an economic boycott of the country in response to its treatment of Palestinians.
Mamdani identifies as Ugandan and was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2018. One right-leaning House Republican has called for an investigation into his naturalization proceedings, and President Donald Trump said earlier this month that he would look into whether Mamdani is 'here illegally.'
In the video, the Democratic mayoral nominee sarcastically described the trip as a response to xenophobic comments on social media telling him to 'go back to Africa.'
'Being a politician means listening, not just to your supporters, but your critics, too,' Mamdani says in the video. 'And some of these critics, especially on a certain website, have been giving me consistent advice.'
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