 "New York mayoral candidate, State Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-NY) kisses the hand of his wife Rama Duwaji as they celebrate during an election night gathering at The Greats of Craft LIC on June 24, 2025 in the Long Island City neighborhood of the Queens borough in New York City on June 24. File Photo/AFP")
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has been in the limelight since besting Andrew Cuomo to win the Democratic nomination to run the city last month. The Indian-origin socialist’s shocking victory has brought him to the centre stage of US politics.
Besides his views, Mamdani has also been making headlines for his personal life. The 33-year-old, who married artist and animator Rama Duwaji in February, reportedly held a lavish three-day celebration to celebrate his wedding at his family’s luxurious estate in Uganda last week.
The festivities, however, have sparked controversy. Here’s why.
Mamdani’s wedding bash in Uganda
Zohran Mamdani, the son of Indian filmmaker Mira Nair and renowned Ugandan academic Mahmood Mamdani, celebrated his wedding with Rama Duwaji, 27, at a lavish compound owned by his family in Uganda, as per a New York Post report.
The private compound is located in the posh Buziga Hill area outside the capital city of Kampala. The neighbourhood is home to some of Uganda’s richest, including billionaire businessman Godfrey Kirumira.
Mamdani was born in Uganda and spent the first few years of his life there before moving to the US at the age of seven. The Queens politician returned to his birthplace to mark his love for his wife.
Duwaji and Mamdani, who met on the dating app Hinge, had eloped in February.
The couple hosted wedding celebrations at the compound guarded by masked security guards, with guests partying until midnight last week, reported New York Post.
Mamdani’s family home is secluded and spread over two acres of lush gardens, surrounded by trees, with at least three security gates.
A witness told The Post that the security was so tight that one gate was being watched by around nine guards.
“Outside the Mamdani house were more than 20 special forces command unit guards, some in masks, and there was a phone-jamming system set up — and all for the strictly invite-only Mamdani event,” the witness added.
Guests were served fruit juices and they danced to music from a local DJ last Thursday (July 24). As per a witness, Mamdani is believed to have addressed guests later that night, with the party ending after midnight.
“Then on Friday, inside the compound, there were military style tents being taken down when the party had finished,” they added. “Then what looked like Mamdani personal security guards took over at the gates.”
Mamdani had previously confirmed his trip to Uganda on his Instagram, saying he would stay there until the end of the month.
Why Mamdani’s wedding bash is facing flak
Zohran Mamdani , who says he wants to raise taxes on the top one per cent of New Yorkers, is facing backlash over his reported extravagant wedding festivities.
Andrew Cuomo, who is still in the NYC mayoral race as an independent, took a potshot at his rival. In a poll on X, he asked his followers to vote on whether Mamdani’s three-day wedding was “champagne socialism” or “trust fund socialism.”
Some locals found the wedding bash “insensitive” as Uganda was in mourning for former Ugandan Supreme Court Judge George Kanyeihamba, who lived just three minutes from Mamdanis’ house.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni visited Kanyeihamba’s residence to pay his last respects and “the street was blocked by the president’s cars,” a local was quoted as saying.
“Because of the culture here, it was insensitive to have a wedding celebration in the same week as mourning – or ‘Okukungubaga’ – as it’s called here,” another told The Post.
“He has not even been buried, and we have his friends coming to give last words and to mourn before the burial next week, yet Mamdani is celebrating his wedding for three days,” the source added.
As reports of Mamdani’s lavish wedding celebrations surfaced, X users also took a jibe at the socialist candidate.
One posted, “Zohran Mamdani wants to ban all guns and defund the police, then flies to Uganda for his wedding, guarded by masked special forces at his family’s multimillion-dollar compound. Socialism for thee, not for me.”
Another user mocked him as “man of the people”. “Zohran Mamdani: Nothing says American like getting married on your family’s luxury Uganda compound. A man of the people,” they wrote.
“Mamdani clearly doesn’t see the irony—his wealth and lavish lifestyle, including that Uganda wedding bash with armed guards, stem directly from capitalism. As a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist, he thrives while pushing policies like defunding the NYPD and rent freezes that could financially ruin everyone else,” another tweeted.
With inputs from agencies