Here’s how Cape Town-schooled Zohran Mamdani made New York City history

The Ugandan-born, Cape Town-educated Zohran Mamdani has clinched the New York City mayorship in a truly historic election.

Democratic socialist Mamdani, 34, clinched the mayorship of New York City on Tuesday, 4 November 2025, capping a stunning political ascent that sees the charismatic politician defeat establishment rivals in a historic win focused on affordability.

Mamdani – the city’s youngest mayor in over a century and its first Muslim leader – also makes history as the first mayor born in Africa and the first of South Asian heritage to lead America’s largest city.

Born in Kampala, Uganda, his family – renowned in academic and film circles – later moved to the Mother City, where the young Mamdani attended St George’s Grammar School in Little Mowbray, Cape Town.

His father is the distinguished post-colonial scholar Mahmood Mamdani, who taught at the University of Cape Town between 1996 and 1999. His mother is Oscar-nominated Indian filmmaker Mira Nair.

Mamdani’s affinity for his African and Ugandan identity is partly attributed to his father’s work and activism.

‘Mayor Freeze-the-Rent’ battles Trump and affordability crisis

The bedrock of Mamdani’s meteoric rise was a commitment to tackling the New York City’s crippling affordability crisis. Campaigning heavily on bread-and-butter issues, the former foreclosure prevention counsellor promised ambitious socialist policies aimed at alleviating the pressure on working-class New Yorkers.

His key pledge centred on a four-year pause on rent increases for stabilised units, which earned him the nickname “Mayor Freeze-the-Rent”. His platform also advocates for free city bus service, universal childcare, along with higher taxes on the wealthy to fund these initiatives.

This “people first” approach proved revolutionary in one of the world’s most expensive cities, drawing stark parallels with the housing struggles faced by citizens in metropolitan areas like Cape Town. The campaign leveraged immense grassroots support, mobilising a powerful movement backed by thousands of volunteers and small-dollar donors.

The political battle drew relentless scrutiny, notably from former US President Donald Trump, who attacked the Democratic socialist by casting him as a “Communist Candidate” and threatening to withhold federal funding from New York City if Mamdani won.

Mamdani, who became a US citizen in 2018, defiantly addressed his critics in his victory speech on Tuesday, proclaiming that New York will remain a city led by an immigrant.

Zohran Mamdani: The seismic shift felt from Queens to Cape Town

Mamdani’s journey – from Kampala to the madrasa classes at Cape Town’s Claremont Main Road Mosque to becoming a New York State Assemblyman and eventually mayor – is viewed as a powerful moment of political imagination across the Global South.

Mamdani refused to apologise for his identity, saying he is “young… Muslim… a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologise for any of this” in front of thousands on Tuesday evening.

The ascension of the young millennial democratic socialist to lead America’s largest city, defeating political heavyweights like incument mayor Eric Adams, former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa, is seen as confirmation of a desire among voters for a city that genuinely serves the many, not just the wealthy few.