Overview

• Mamdani hosted a three-day, invite-only wedding at his parents’ Buziga Hill estate outside Kampala with more than 20 masked special forces-style guards and a cellphone-jamming system.
• The timing of the celebration coincided with local mourning rituals for former Supreme Court Judge George Kanyeihamba, leading neighbors to label the festivities culturally insensitive.
• Online critics have branded the Democratic socialist a “champagne socialist,” arguing that lavish private security undercuts his campaign calls to defund police and freeze rents.
• Despite the backlash, Mamdani remains the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor on a platform of universal childcare, free transit and police budget cuts.
• He confirmed in a social media video that he will stay in Uganda through the end of July and playfully offered suggestions for media headlines about his trip.