O-blog-dee-o-blog-da

By Melanie Nathan, Oct 06, 2025.

In a city as kaleidoscopic and politically combustible as New York, the mayoral showdown between Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani transcends electoral rivalry. It’s a referendum on values, integrity, and the very heart and conscience of the Big Apple. As hate crimes surge, discourse fractures, and moral clarity within politics grows increasingly elusive, this race has become more than political theater. It’s a crucible for the soul of the city. Enter the shocking recent picture of Zohran Mamdani, Democratic Socialist candidate for NYC  Mayor, surfaced, where he is seen smiling, this year, with Rebecca Kadaga the Ugandan Parliament Speaker who presided over the 2014 passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2014. (See yesterday’s article below)

Rebecca Kadaga systematically drove Uganda’s anti-gay agenda from bully pulpit to bill: as Speaker, she vowed to pass the Anti-Homosexuality Bill as a “Christmas gift” for Ugandans and then presided over its passage, which a court later nullified for lack of quorum—finding the Speaker had acted illegally. When the law was voided by the Courts in 2014, it infuriated Kadaga who vowed vengeance and that the Bill would come back. She did all she could to ensure that, and although she was no longer Speaker at the time of its second passage in 2023,  as an extremely influential Parliamentarian she ensured its passage with her undying support. She paired legislation with mobilization, urging youth to “fight homosexuality,” and leveraged international forums to smother debate—her intervention at the Inter-Parliamentary Union helped get an LGBT item dropped from the agenda.  Her groundwork and continued advocacy fed directly into today’s regime: the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act, with extreme penalties including life in prison and death for “aggravated homosexuality,” now largely upheld in Uganda’s courts.

When looking at the photo of Mamdani and Kadaga, we are reminded  that Zohran Mamdani says he stands with the marginalized, yet stayed silent on Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” bill —and then posed with its chief champion, Rebecca Kadaga. That’s not allyship. It looks like complicity.  Back on August 02, I wrote:  “The political values he champions in the United States—equity, humility, and solidarity with the marginalized—stand in stark and unsettling contrast to his actions on African soil. The disconnect between his public persona and private behavior is not just troubling—it’s politically and ethically disqualifying…”

The Anti Homosexuality Act of 2023, otherwise known as the Kill the Gays Bill, was signed into law by dictator President Museveni, at which time he called upon all African leaders to “save the world from homosexuality”, a genocidal suggestion that has in fact helped fuel a regional cascade of harsher anti-LGBTQI+ sentiment and the introductions of legislation —in countries already criminalizing same-sex relations, such as Ghana, and by spurring new legislation in places like Burkina Faso. This is what Mamdani has ignored and now seemingly embraced!

Here is a summarized record of Kadaga’s Anti Gay journey through her own words:

• • Quote: “We are not a colony or a protectorate of Canada.” Context: Rebuked Canada’s FM John Baird during an IPU session after he criticized Uganda’s anti-LGBT stance.Oct 25, 2012 — Inter-Parliamentary Union (Quebec City)
  • Quote: “Ugandans want that law as a Christmas gift… we’ll give them that gift.”Context: Vowed to pass the Anti-Homosexuality Bill as a “Christmas gift.”Nov 13, 2012 — Reuters interview (Kampala)
  • Quote: “Be very careful because gays are here to distort our heritage. We have discovered that they adopt our children and confine them in gay communities abroad to train them on gay practices. By the time they come back home, they are already influenced by homosexuality and are used to influence others in the community,”  An article I wrote in 2014:https://oblogdee.blog/2014/12/01/ugandan-kadaga-continues-her-xmas-tirade-tradition-attacking-gays/
  • Quote (reported): Announced the Anti-Homosexuality Bill’s return to Parliament.Context: Publicly championed swift passage.Nov 26, 2012 — The Guardian (reporting her announcement)Action/Record: Presided as Speaker when MPs passed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Context: Part of the legislative push she had promised; later struck down for lack of quorum.Dec 20, 2013 — Ugandan Parliament (Kampala)
  • Court’s words: Constitutional Court held the Speaker “acted illegally” by allowing a vote without quorum. Context: This refers to Kadaga’s handling of the Dec 2013 vote.Aug 1, 2014 — (Court finding, for context on her role)
  • Parliament posture (reported): As Speaker, “expressed determination” to see a revived anti-gay law passed after annulment.Context: MPs plotted re-introduction; reflects her continued advocacy (reporting paraphrase, not a fresh quote).Jan 9, 2015 (reported Jan 2015; archived by Daily Monitor)
  • Quote: Urged youth to “fight homosexuality,” alleging NGOs “lure” youth using scholarships.
  • Quote: Claimed “Canadian court has legalised sex with dogs in addition to homosexuality.” Context: Mobilized youth as “ground fighters” against the “vice.”Jun 25, 2016 — Youth event in Kamuli (Ugandan Daily Monitor) Action/Record (reported)
  • Kadaga-led committee got an International Parliamentary Union (IPU) proposal on LGBT rights dropped from debate. Context: Procedural move aligning with her anti-LGBT stance (reporting paraphrase).Oct 20, 2017 — IPU Assembly (St. Petersburg) – discussed further in this article – see video
  • Quote (recalled/reporting): Reiterated her 2013 framing of the bill as a “Christmas gift for Ugandans.” Context: Historical recap underscoring her authorship/championship.Mar 6, 2023 — Daily Monitor retrospective

    2025 — Ongoing press recaps – Summary (reported): Coverage continues to cite her 2012 “Christmas gift” remark and long record championing anti-LGBT laws. Context: Background used in current political coverage.

This is not a full record. Kadaga presided over harsh rhetoric,  spinning the web of lies and misinformation about  LGBT people at every opportunity, while endorsing the gay hunts led by colleague Simon Lokodo, Minister of Ethics and Integrity – at the time, all of which led to a consistent rise in homophobic violence and forced displacement of LGBTI Ugandans, forced to flee their country.

Here is the Video of Speaker Rebecca Kadaga at 138th IPU Assembly, threatening that if the IPU tried to have a discussion to bring a resolution concerning LGBTI rights to the IPU, Uganda will pull out of the IPU. Contemporary reporting indicates that after Speaker Rebecca Kadaga—speaking on behalf of the Ugandan/African group—threatened Uganda’s withdrawal, the Inter-Parliamentary Union did not take up the proposed debate on LGBT rights at the next Assembly and no resolution advanced at that time (Uganda Radio Network). Follow-up coverage the same month likewise reported that member states voted against adding an LGBT item to the agenda, effectively blocking discussion (Eagle Online). The official record of the 138th IPU Assembly also notes Kadaga’s intervention objecting to including an LGBT debate item (IPU record).

Here is Zohran Mamdani with Kadaga in July 2025. In my articles, see below for links, I noted specifically: “

In the broader context of political avoidance and public trust, Mamdani’s record reveals a disturbing pattern: a willingness to sidestep moral clarity when it challenges his image—whether in matters of elitism, human rights, or antisemitism. His lavish wedding celebration in Uganda, guarded by state security forces in a country marked by dictatorship, extreme poverty, and anti-LGBTQI+ violence, clashed sharply with the values he claims to champion in New York. The dissonance was not just about extravagance—it was about complicity, silence, and calculated distance from accountability.”

The core issue is not just what Mamdani says, but what he refuses to say—and what that reveals about his political judgment. Whether evading the realities of Ugandan authoritarianism while hosting a private spectacle or refusing to confront inflammatory, dangerous rhetoric at home, he reveals a pattern of selective outrage and performative solidarity.

If Mamdani cannot confront elitism, repression, or antisemitism when doing so might cost him politically, how can he be trusted to lead with integrity—let alone speak for the most vulnerable?

Mamdani  cannot lie his way out of this photo – though he may try and lie his way out of knowing Kadaga’s record. However with the enormous amount of publicity the Anti Homosexuality law has received over the years, such an admission about “not knowing” such huge news from a small country of one’s birth is laughable and would indicate a pending incompetence playing in the big boy arena of NYC.

Here are my Articles About Zohran’s encounter with Kadaga and his silence on Uganda’s Anti Homosexuality Act – (Kill the Gays Bill):

The Photo That Betrays the Platform: Zohran Mamdani, Rebecca Kadaga, Align Amidst Deadly Homophobia

Zohran Mamdani’s alleged Ugandan Extravaganza Adds to Political and Ethical Questions

The Socialist Mirage: Cuomo’s Clarity vs. Mamdani’s Dangerous Evasions

 

By Melanie Nathan
Country Conditions Expert Witness for LGBTQI+ People from 20 African countries
Commissionermnathan@gmail.com