NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani: Cape childhood shaped politics

INCOMING New York mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani he has credited his formative years as a Kapenaar with shaping his politics and worldview.

Born in Kampala, Uganda to Indian parents, Mamdani moved to Cape Town around 1996, when his father, Professor Mahmood Mamdani, accepted a post at the University of Cape Town (UCT).

The family lived in the southern suburbs, where his father held the AC Jordan Chair in African Studies and directed the Centre for African Studies. During their years in Cape Town, Mamdani attended St George's Grammar School in Mowbray, one of the city's oldest private schools.

He was immersed in a diverse social environment as South Africa entered its post-apartheid era, an experience that would later inform his political understanding of inequality and social justice.

In interviews, Mamdani has reflected on how his parents' activism shaped his upbringing. "When you’re the kid of two parents who are very involved in social justice, a lot of times what you remember as a playdate was you being at some rally or some march," he told People magazine.

When the family relocated to the United States in the late 1990s, Mamdani continued his education and later studied Africana Studies at Bowdoin College. He has often credited his African upbringing, including his years in Cape Town, with grounding his political identity.

Mamdani faced immense ire including, islamophobia and racism from US politicians, allegedly including from President Donald Trump. Even South African-born, Elon Musk shared his dislike of the 34-year-old.

"Mamdani is a charismatic swindler...I mean you have to hand it to him...but he has just been a swindler his entire life," he said on the Joe Rogan Podcast.

Mamdani opened up about growing up in Cape Town earlier this year. "It taught me what inequality looks like up close," he told Time magazine earlier this year. "It taught me that justice has to be more than an idea; it has to be material."