A small footpath snaking through greater Ojentenyang parish after turning off from Kateta, Kyere road visibly brought the journey to Aleplep village in Serere District to a stop. Ahead was Aleplep landing site on Lake Kyoga, its water grey but its ripples striking and appealing from a distance.
Aleplep is one of dozens of communities in Teso that the Bakenyi people have cradled for centuries, making them Teso’s third tribe, a people so unique and true to their ancestry. They are also renowned for their love for fishing expeditions.
The tell tales about Teso sub region can never be complete without mention of the Bakenyi speakers, though lately tucked away in silence in their communities, where intermarriages and changing times are starting to take a toll on their identity, they still hold hope that they will outlive the current tides for the good of their posterity.
It’s here in Aleplep where a couple of elders, mostly above 70, shared testimonies as a tribe settled in the wider catchment dominated by the Iteso.
According to Mr Gerald Mwanika Baligajo, 82, the roots of the Bakenyi date as old as those of the Iteso in Teso.
“We are as old as the Iteso, the difference that makes us look a minority tribe is that, we majorly settled along the lake and Islands and that impacted much on our inability to own a dominion,” Baligajo says.
He says their great grandparents migrated to Teso from Buganda and settled especially around Lake Kyoga belts as early as 1700 and 1800.
“Our major livelihood was fishing, while the Iteso who are said to have migrated here around the same time from Ethiopia through Karamoja, took to cattle rearing and farming. Because our livelihoods differed, we the Bakenye had our niche in fishing expeditions, which is why wherever you find a water body, you will find the Bakenye settled there. The Iteso were pastoralists and farmers, which is why they own vast lands,” adds Baligajo.
Amugema by clan, Baligajo says he belongs to the eighth generation that has lived in Teso since their great fathers set foot in Teso, adding that their great grandparents migrated from Buganda, through Busoga then finally had a stop along Lake Kyoga shores.
‘My immediate family including the grandchildren are over 100 people, majority are all settled and married in Teso, some have intermarried while others are married to fellow Bakenye people,’ he adds.
Baligajo admits times have changed, revealing a culture of segregation cropping up among the current generation of Iteso against the Bakenye, while their great grandparents were receptive and cordial.
“But we have had great union with the Iteso for centuries, which we pray remains unsoiled. The current hate is not so loud but it frightens us because we are a minority group. Even the fishing expedition for which we were once known for, the operations on Lake Kyoga by government against illegal fishing have made us rethink our livelihood to majorly now farming, though we have limited land,” he explains.
Ms Jamilah Nabwire says times have changed. “Even today when it comes to benefiting from government projects, we face segregation,” Nabwire says. “But we are one, we have lived with the Iteso for centuries, but I wonder where the kind of segregation among the current generation of Iteso is cropping from.”
Pascal Waswa, also 82, observes that current times are spelling difficulty to their survival. “We are no longer a tribe that relies on fishing anymore, and we are now farmers, though we taught the Iteso how to fish.” According to Waswa, Iteso were basically cattle keepers and farmers who barely knew anything about fishing. “Iteso were our customers, in exchange for fish, they would give us cassava and other grains, so in that process of interaction we became friends with their great grandparents.”
Ms Racheal Mwanika, born of Gawa village, Tiling parish, Kobuin sub county, Ngora district, says her worry is that their children have been swallowed into the larger Ateso speaking community. ‘Our children now seem to speak Ateso than they do for the Lukenye as dialect. At school, their children without their knowledge are changing names, just because they want to suit the current tides.”
Vinadi Musana claims the Bakenye are always considered last in programmes like PDM, Emyooga, including now cattle restocking, yet during elections they are quick to reach out.
Mr Pascal Bakisula of Akisim village, Butet Sub County, Pallisa district, says the livelihood of the Bakenye has come under jeopardy. “Outside the lake, we don’t have sizable pieces of land to make ends meet, as an affirmative action, we would request that the government consider establishing for us fishponds and fish cages basically for the Bakenye community to thrive.”
The Bakenyi, historically known as Bakunta or Balunnyanja, trace ancestry to Bantu migrations from the Congo Basin between AD 1000 and 1300 and contributed to formation of Buganda Kingdom. The 2024 National Census placed their population at 101,395, though research by Dr J.Baker Wairama in 2002 estimated about 1.2 million.
Mr Moses Wasswa Sinini, recently elected Bakenyi community leader, Paramount Chief, says segregation is glaringly visible but “this is not the time to point fingers”. He adds they will seek an opportunity to put issues before the Equal Opportunities Commission. With the lake no longer viable, he says alternative enterprises like fish farming and fish cages should be extended to the Bakenyi because “history has it that we have been traditional fishermen over centuries”.