Inside Zohran Mamdani's posh multi-day Uganda wedding bash with phone jamming system, armed guards

New York Post

4 days ago

Socialist NYC mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani celebrated his recent nuptials with a lavish, three-day affair at his family's ritzy, secluded Ugandan compound — complete with masked security guards and a cellphone jamming system, The Post has learned.
The gates of the bustling, private compound, which sits in the wealthy Buziga Hill area outside the capital city of Kampala, were heavily guarded by military-style, masked men this week, with guests streaming in and partying until midnight, according to sources in the town who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons.
Mamdani, 33, eloped with artist and animator Rama Duwaji, 27, in February.
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He told his social media followers Sunday he was heading to his homeland to celebrate with his wealthy filmmaker mom and professor dad, who own the Buziga Hill property.
The neighborhood is home to some of Uganda's richest, including billionaire businessman Godfrey Kirumira, a city tycoon with stakes in real estate, tourism, petroleum and infrastructure, and houses neighboring the Mamdanis easily fetch more than $1 million.
6 Rama Duwaji and NYC Mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, who eloped in February, were celebrating their nuptials with a multi-day bash in his native Uganda.
Instagram/Le Marché des Fleurs
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The home is set back from the road and sits on two acres of lush gardens surrounded by trees, has breathtaking, panoramic view of Lake Victoria and features at least three security gates.
This week, it was transformed into a party pad, with Christmas lights strung into the canopy of trees in the garden and music blaring, sources said. On Tuesday, buses, several Mercedes and a Range Rover 4 were seen driving to the compound.
6 Christmas lights were seen strung into trees inside the Mamdani property's garden.
Katumba Badru/New York Post
Security was extremely tight, sources said.
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'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,' one witness confirmed to The Post.
'One gate had around nine guards stationed at it,' they added.
6 Guards including government-style security were placed outside Mamdani's house as he celebrated his wedding.
Katumba Badru/New York Post
Mamdani's parents, Nair, 67, and her husband, Mahmood Mamdani, 78, an anti-Israel political theorist, live on the estate but also split their time between New York and New Delhi. Nair's Instagram page includes one post featuring a coconut tree planted when Mamdani was born.
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A native of Kampala, Mamdani moved to New York when he was 7, becoming a U.S citizen in 2018. He'd announced his marriage to Duwaji, an illustrator, earlier this year. The pair met on the dating app, Hinge and now share a rent-stabilized apartment in Astoria.
On Thursday, revelers enjoyed fruit juices, a typical addition for Indian-style events, as well as dancing to music from a local DJ, sources told The Post.
6 Mamdani and Rama Duwaji who spent three days celebrating their wedding at the Mamdani house outside Kampala.
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One witness reported making out the NYC's Democratic mayoral nominee's voice on a microphone addressing 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.'
6 Flowers were left outside a closed gate at Mamdani's home after days of wedding celebrations in Buziga, Kampala.
Katumba Badru/New York Post
'Flowers were also left in a pile on the ground near one of the security gates.'
The property is isolated enough that some locals weren't even aware of the three-day wedding extravaganza.
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'Local children have been watching Mamdani on TV, and everyone was talking about him, but not about the wedding,' another resident said. 'For us, it's just about survival. We're just trying to win the bread and make sure our families are OK.'
'We had heard that Mamdani was going to be Mayor of New York, and he had made it over in America,' another added. 'We want to know now if we can get free visas to the U.S. and to travel to New York like he did.'
6 Expensive cars were seen arriving at Buziga Hill Road last week as Mamdani threw a party for his wedding.
Katumba Badru/New York Post
While the Mamdani family celebrated, neighbors were in mourning for former Ugandan Supreme Court Judge George Kanyeihamba, who had lived a stones throw from the Mamdani's place and died July 14.
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Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni also came to pay his respects to Kanyeihamba and 'the street was blocked by the president's cars,' a local said.
Some found Mamdani's wedding bash 'insensitive.'
'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,' one told The Post.
'People are still in mourning,' the person added, pointing in the direction of Kanyeihamba's house, about three minutes away from the Mamdani property.
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'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 continued.
It's unclear if Museveni also attended Mamdani's party.
Mamdani did not respond to a request for comment from The Post.
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The Queens assemblyman confirmed in an Instagram video that he would stay in Uganda until the end of the month.
'Since you will undoubtedly read about this trip in The New York Post —Inshallah on the front page—here are a few of my humble suggestions for headlines,' Mamdani quipped while holding a slew of newspaper covers, one which read, 'M.I.A.:MAMDANI IN AFRICA.'