and Bakhenyi in Kenya are a minority Bantu speaking water loving and fishing ethnic group that is said have previously been part of the Mainland Baganda.The Bakenye are unique from the Baganda people in that the former by culture have fishing as their main economic activity, followed by subsistence farming and hunting. Bakenye are affiliated to other East African tribes and ethnic groups, for instance in Uganda to the Banyaruguru and Batagyenda ethnic groups in Western Uganda; to the Kisii,Abakuria,Gusii,Wagirango and the Suba ethnic groups in Kenya,and Luhya,Abakuria,Ababakusu,Abalogoli,Abakerewe ethnic groups in Tanzania. The Bakenye people normally occupy the watered/aquatic habitats where they have settled and carry out fishing activities. They speak a language called “Lukenye” a dialect that is a mixture of Baganda, Basoga,Banyole,Bagisu,Baruli,Banyala words/phrases etc According to Kibira S.M (2016) the Bakenye are believed to have escaped from Buganda in the 16th century following the death of Kabaka (King) Kayemba who drowned in Lake Victoria

and the subsequent civil wars/conflicts that took place in Buganda kingdom between the Islanders and the Mainland inhabitants by then when the Kabaka (King) was on a tour from the Ssese Islands in Kalangala district. The Bakenye were suspected of causing Kabaka’s (king’s) death because at that time, they had political differences with the Mainland Baganda as they too wanted to take over the kingship. The other Baganda were opposed to their wish and were defeated.The ambitious Bakenye were the only people in Buganda who were endowed with the knowledge and skills of fishing, swimming, watercraftmanship and were capable of dealing with movements and navigation on the water bodies such as the lakes, rivers and streams.(Kifuko Faustine Wabwire: informal conversation,Pers comm,1990). According to the Minority Rights Group International Report (MRGIR, 2018), the population of Bakenye (Abakhenye) in Uganda was estimated to be about 1.2 million. They were listed among the minority and marginalized groups in Uganda. In Kenya, there exists no adequate literature nor statistical data about the Bakenye,although in Kenya they are called Bakhenyi and they are grouped together with the other dominant Bantu speaking tribes/ethnic groups like the Samia,Luo or Abasuba living in Kenya. Though the Bakenye in Uganda feel marginalized, the Ugandan Constitution (1995) recognizes them as one of the 56 tribes in Uganda. Apart from the Bakenye (Abakhenye), other tribes recognized in the Ugandan constitution which are also found in Kenya include Basamia,Babukusu,Iteso,Pokot,Turkana among others. However, the Bakenye(Abakhenye) are yet to be recognized as an independent tribe in Kenya (Kibira S.M,2016). The Origin of the Bakenye The Bakenye are part of the Buganda ethnic group. Historically the Buganda people are Bantu speaking ethnic group who are thought to have originated and migrated from the Congo Basin in Katanga region. Luganda the language spoken by the Baganda is characterized by a suffix “ntu” in their words. The Bakenye are said to have migrated from the Mainland of Buganda Kingdom and first settled down in the interlacustrine watered/aquatic regions of the Islands of Lake Victoria(locally known as Lake Nalubaale in Luganda language) around the 16th century before they moved further on to occupy diverse destinations of Uganda, East Africa and