‘I couldn’t recognize a single person because everybody I knew had been expelled": Mahmood Mamdani recalls life in Uganda aft | CNN

‘I couldn’t recognize a single person because everybody I knew had been expelled": Mahmood Mamdani recalls life in Uganda aft

Published 3:00 PM EST, Fri January 23, 2026

Amanpour Mamdani 23Jan2026.jpg

"I couldn’t recognize a single person because everybody I knew had been expelled": Mahmood Mamdani recalls life in Uganda aft

Uganda is once again confronting deep questions about power and political continuity. Mahmood Mamdani, whose "Slow Poison" offers a tragic personal account of Uganda's postcolonial fate, joins Christiane Amanpour to discuss the experience of living in fragmentation.

3:57 • Source: CNN

This just in... 16 videos

Amanpour Mamdani 23Jan2026.jpg

"I couldn’t recognize a single person because everybody I knew had been expelled": Mahmood Mamdani recalls life in Uganda aft

03:57

Now playing

• Source: CNN

thumb_22669781_15118.561_thumb.jpg

Divers describe navigating through pitch black, sharp rocks and cool water during daring Laos cave rescue

03:29

Now playing

• Source: CNN

16x9_vid.00_00_06_15.Still015.jpg

See rescue moments of first villager trapped in Laos cave

01:03

Now playing

• Source: CNN

This video grab provided by Metta Tham Rescue Kalasin, shows rescuers evacuating the first of five villagers, center, who had been trapped in a cave in Xaisomboun province, Laos, Friday, May 29, 2026. (Metta Tham Rescue Kalasin via AP)

CNN’s Will Ripley reports exclusively from Laos amid harrowing cave rescue

04:37

Now playing

• Source: CNN

<p>At the Château de Versailles, the very stage where Molière performed before Louis XIV, an experiment in artificial intelligence is having its world premiere. CNN attends the premiere, and sits down with the collective that trained an AI on Molière’s complete works to generate an entirely new play in his style.</p>

Can AI resurrect the genius of France’s greatest playwright

02:55

Now playing

• Source: CNN

Screenshot 2026-05-29 at 11.33.26 AM.png

Watch: First survivor is safely out of flooded cave in Laos, rescue diver says

01:09

Now playing

• Source: CNN

Screenshot 2026-05-29 at 10.50.36 AM.png

Watch: First survivor is safely out of flooded cave in Laos, rescue diver says

02:01

Now playing

• Source: CNN

Laos 16x9 1.jpg

Exclusive: CNN speaks to wife of man trapped in Laos cave

00:32

Now playing

• Source: CNN

CNN on scene of daring rescue of villagers from cave

01:38

Now playing

• Source: CNN

still_22555982_305322.115_still.jpg

Yvonne Orji on comedy, faith and Nigerian identity: ‘It’s just who I am’

22:50

Now playing

• Source: CNN

RenameThisHorizontal.00_00_21_12.Still001.jpg

CNN speaks exclusively with sisters whose brothers are trapped in Laos cave

01:45

Now playing

• Source: CNN

firecoat paint 1.png

Could this fire-deflecting paint help homes survive wildfires?

03:12

Now playing

• Source: CNN

loop_raw.00_00_18_02.Still001.jpg

CNN shows Laos cave rescue from above

02:07

Now playing

• Source: CNN

16x9_vid Copy 01.00_00_45_11.Still012.jpg

‘We’re really hungry’: people trapped in Laos cave tell rescuers

00:50

Now playing

• Source: CNN

TOM THUMBNAIL.png

US officials: Tentative agreement has been reached with Iran, but Trump still needs to sign off on it

01:47

Now playing

• Source: CNN

Search for accountability three months after an attack killed 168 children at a girls' school in Iran

01:16

Now playing

• Source: CNN