that year by Ugandan dictator Idi Amin because of their ethnicity; Amin intended to "reclaim" Asian-owned businesses and properties. Mamdani left Uganda for a refugee camp in the United Kingdom in early November.

He left England in mid-1973 after being recruited to the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, where he completed his dissertation. He was active in anti-Amin groups in Tanzania. In 1979, he attended the Moshi Conference