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For while Mamdani celebrates Pride in New York, he has remained  publicly silent about one of the most severe anti-LGBTQ crises in the world, giving it a fleeting mention in  the past, when he sought cover for a controversial photograph which exposed his connection to Rebecca Kadaga, the Speaker of Parliament who presided over Uganda’s first “Kill the Gays Bill.”

citi today imposes life imprisonment for same-sex conduct and provides for the death penalty in cases categorized as “aggravated homosexuality.” President Yoweri Museveni has openly encouraged a broader campaign against homosexuality beyond Uganda’s borders, calling on all African leaders to lead in “ridding the world of homosexuality.” The consequences are dire. LGBTQI+ people continue to flee persecution across East Africa, while anti-LGBTQ legislation spreads across the continent, mostly inspired by Uganda’s example.

What makes Mamdani’s silence particularly troubling is that Uganda is not a distant foreign policy issue for him. He was born there. He retains Ugandan citizenship. His family owns property there. He celebrated his marriage there, last year. Few elected officials in the United States possess such a direct personal connection to a country enforcing some of the harshest anti-LGBTQ laws on earth. Few are better positioned to speak with moral authority. Yet despite public controversy surrounding his past association with Ugandan political figures linked to anti-gay legislation, and despite previous assurances from his campaign that he opposes Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ policies, he has never publicly and unequivocally condemned the law, called for its repeal, or used his platform to advocate for those facing persecution under it.

Pride is more than a celebration of history. It is a commitment to solidarity. The legacy of Stonewall and ACT UP was never confined to city limits or national borders. If Mayor Mamdani wishes to invoke that legacy, then the question is unavoidable: why celebrate LGBTQ freedom in New York while remaining silent about a government, in a country of which he is a citizen, that threatens LGBTQ people with imprisonment and death?

Pride Month is precisely the moment to answer that question. And if Mayor Mamdani cannot or will not do so, it leaves behind the unmistakable stench of a lost opportunity. At a time when LGBTQI+ Ugandans, and countless others across Africa, are living in fear, facing violence, imprisonment, displacement, and persecution, they look toward places where freedom exists. They look to cities like New York and to leaders who celebrate Pride not merely as a festival, but as a promise. They look for voices willing to speak when silence is easier, and for beacons whose light reaches beyond their own borders. Pride was never meant to stop at Stonewall. Its moral obligation extends to those who are still fighting simply to survive.

If Pride means anything, it must mean standing with those whose freedom remains under assault.

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By Melanie Nathan
Country conditions expert witness for LGBTQI+ asylum seekers from Uganda and African countries.
commisisonermnathan@gmail.com