The Soga (also called Basoga) are a Bantu ethnic group native to the kingdom of

Busoga Busoga (Soga language, Lusoga: Obwakyabazinga bwa Busoga) is a kingdom and one of four constitutional monarchies in present-day Uganda. The kingdom is a cultural institution which promotes popular participation and unity among the people of the ...

in eastern Uganda. The Basoga live in Uganda's districts of Bugiri, Iganga, Jinja, Kamuli, and Mayuge (formerly known collectively as Busoga) though new districts were formed later like Luuka, Kaliro, Namayingo, Bugweri, Namutunba and Buyende. Situated in eastern Uganda immediately north of the equator, Busoga is bounded by Lake Kyoga to the north, the Victoria Nile to the west, the Mpologoma River to the east, and Lake Victoria to the south. Busoga is 3,443 square miles (8,920 square kilometers) in area, with a length of about 100 miles (160 kilometers) and a width of a little over 50 miles (80 kilometers). These natural boundaries have enabled Basoga to have a uniqueness of their own as a group.

History

Early contact with European explorers

Busoga's written history began in 1862. On 28 July Royal Geographical Society explorer John Hanning Speke arrived at Ripon Falls (near Jinja, where the

Victoria Nile The White Nile ( ') is a river in Africa, the minor of the two main tributary, tributaries of the Nile, the larger being the Blue Nile. The name "White" comes from the clay sediment carried in the water that changes the water to a pale color. ...

flows from

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropics, tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface are ...

and begins its descent to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Since Speke's route (inland from the East African coast) took him around the southern end of

, he approached Busoga from the west (through Buganda). Having reached his goal (the source of the Nile), he turned northward and followed the river downstream without exploring Busoga. He records, however, being told that ''Usoga'' ( Swahili for Busoga) was an island (it is bordered on all four sides by water). According to the 2002 Census of Uganda, 16.2% of Basoga are

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, 46.2% are

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

( Church of Uganda), 30.6% are

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and 3.7% are

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

References

{{Reflist6. Owe'k Alamanzan Jafar Kapata Busoga cultural heritage researcher since 2020 up to date Bantu peoples Busoga Ethnic groups in Uganda