The Jibana Mijikenda of Kenya

The Jibana Mijikenda of Kenya, numbering approximately 44,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a tribal subgroup of the Mijikenda, a large Bantu ethnic group inhabiting the coastal region of Kenya. They are an Indigenous people in the Bantu, East-Coastal people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Kigiryama and their primary religion is Ethnoreligion.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Kenya
People Cluster: Bantu, East-Coastal
Primary Language(s): Kigiryama (nyf)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 44,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG014798
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Jibana Mijikenda of Kenya

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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

70%
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kigiryama
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Kigiryama Speakers

Media Resources in Kigiryama:

Films:

Bible Resources in Kigiryama:

Or check out the Kigiryama bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Moderately Reached People Group, (LPI: 5), 6% to 20% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical (GSEC: 6), this people group is greater than or equal to 10% evangelical

Next steps for the Jibana Mijikenda:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Jibana Mijikenda 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 Jibana Mijikenda:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Jibana Mijikenda are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Jibana Mijikenda:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Jibana Mijikenda of Kenya

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
readRomans 6:4

Pray that those who need to surrender their lives to Christ will confess their sins and trust in Him, being united with Him in His death and resurrection, walking in newness of life.

The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.
readPsalm 104:8

Pray that they will see the hand of God in the beauty and order of the natural world, and that they will worship Him as the Creator and Sustainer of all things.

"And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you"...And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
readMatthew 25:38-40

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and serve others in faithfulness to Him, they will know that by serving others, they are serving Jesus, who is present with them.

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
read2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

Pray that the Word of God will spread throughout this people group and be honored. Ask God to establish His people and guard them from the evil one, testifying to this whole people group of His great faithfulness.

Jibana Across Countries (ROP3 - 104262) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

Scroll to Top