The Bari Kakwa of South Sudan

The Bari Kakwa of South Sudan, numbering approximately 112,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Nilotic ethnic group that is related to the larger Karo people indigenous to northwestern Uganda and northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo They are an Diaspora people, with Kakwa as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Nilotic people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. Their primary religion is Protestantism. They primarily speak Kakwa.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Bari Kakwa

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: South Sudan
People Cluster: Nilotic
Primary Language(s): Kakwa (keo)
Primary Religion(s): Protestantism
Population: 112,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012054
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bari Kakwa of South Sudan

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Protestantism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

55%
%
Protestantism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kakwa
Language Family: Nilotic

90%
%
Kakwa Speakers

Media Resources in Kakwa:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Kakwa:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1977 Bible Society of Uganda✓✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Kakwa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bari Kakwa are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Bari Kakwa:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Bari Kakwa of South Sudan

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
readProverbs 8:17

As many search for hope, pray they will discover materials that will lead them to Jesus and explain the gospel in a way they will resonate with.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."
readJohn 6:35

Pray that the lost will come to Jesus and believe in Him, never to hunger or thirst again.

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of host.
readJeremiah 15:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will find joy and delight in the Word of the Lord.

Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!
readPsalm 105:2

Pray for God to saturate this place with the gospel and raise up believing men and women from among them to share the good news of Christ with those who have yet to encounter it.

Kakwa Across Countries (ROP3 - 104446) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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