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From Dar es Salaam to New York: The Pan-African Matrix that Forged Zohran Mamdani, according to Abdoulaye Bathily

Auteur: Yandé Diop

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De Dar es Salam à New York : La matrice panafricaine qui a forgé Zohran Mamdani, selon Abdoulaye Bathily

Zohran Mamdani's rise to the New York City mayoralty was no accident. It is part of a family history steeped in anti-colonial struggles, Pan-Africanism, and progressive internationalism, the origins of which Abdoulaye Bathily traces. Zohran Mamdani's election as mayor of New York is the continuation of a transcontinental activist legacy.

Born in 1991 in Kampala, Uganda, the young mayor grew up at the heart of the political battles his parents waged on African, Asian, and international stages. "His father, the political scientist Mahmood Mamdani, had found refuge in Dar es Salaam in the late 1970s to escape the regime of Idi Amin Dada. Alongside exiled intellectuals and future leaders like Yoweri Museveni and Paul Kagame, he participated in discussions about the future of Africa and the fight against apartheid," Abdoulaye Bathily told RFI.

According to him, "this progressive sensibility was naturally passed on to Zohran, whose middle name, Kwame, echoes the Ghanaian leader Kwame Nkrumah. His upbringing was reinforced by the committed career of his mother, the filmmaker Mira Naïr, known for her social works such as Salaam Bombay!"

Based between Kampala, Dakar, and New York, the Mamdani family grew up immersed in international activism. From visits to Gorée Island to their involvement in the Palestinian cause, Zohran was exposed early on to the identity and political struggles that shape his public actions today. Having become an American citizen in 2018, he retained his Ugandan nationality out of loyalty to his African roots. According to those close to him, this dual identity informs his political stance, marked by a universalist vision of the fight against injustice.

“Even today, Mahmood Mamdani remains an influential intellectual, present on pan-African networks. Although his ideas have diverged from those of his former comrade Yoweri Museveni, who became an authoritarian leader, his internationalism continues to influence his son’s thinking,” he concludes.

Auteur: Yandé Diop
Publié le: Lundi 10 Novembre 2025

Commentaires (6)

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    FGG il y a 1 jour

    Je me demande vraiment en quoi nous devrions nous enorgueillir de ça, franchement!!!

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    Ter il y a 1 jour

    Pa bi ni rek. Wendélou kat, situationiste.
    Dou sounou problème.
    Après avoir sacrifié des générations avec leur histoire de communisme il se recycle avec la racaille et la caanaille actuelle qui baisent dans des lupanars style sweet beauty

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    Sénégalais il y a 1 jour

    Honte à toi Bathily
    Les sénégalais t’attendent pour te prononcer et contribuer à la résolution des multiples problèmes causés par les gougnafiers qui nous dirigent et que t’ont mis dans un fauteuil doré. Cesse de nous divertir Mamdani et son parcours ne nous intéresse pas, vieux communiste devenu capitaliste.

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    @AS il y a 1 jour

    Ce Mamdani s'est abreuvé aux sources du militantisme universel et de la pensée critique et cela a forgé son parcours et son ascension.
    Il a un discours direct et captivant.

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    Anonyme il y a 1 jour

    Merci bcp Pr pour cet aperçu historique brillant qui nous trace le trajet fors du commun de Mamdani. Il est important de noter que nous recelons des forces et des valeurs qui ne demandent qu'à servir et à s'illustrer. Pour des idées nouvelles, pour une société nouvelle, il faut des hommes nouveaux

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    hiver il y a 1 jour

    ils vont bientôt lui trouver un parent sénégalais

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