Garanganze People
The Garanganze or Yeke people (also 'Bayeke') of Katanga in DR Congo established the Yeke Kingdom under the warrior-king Msiri who dominated the southern part of Central Africa from 1850 to 1891 and controlled the trade route between Angola and Zanzibar from his capital at Bunkeya.
Msiri and his people were originally Nyamwezi traders from the around Tabora who migrated to Katanga to reach the source of copper, ivory and slaves to trade. They took over and merged with a Wasanga chieftainship and established a powerful base by conquering neighbouring tribes.
In 1891 Msiri was killed by the Stairs Expedition sent by King Leopold II of Belgium to take possession of Katanga for his Congo Free State. Many of the Yeke dispersed, with some settling in the Luapula valley and western shores of Lake Mweru around the Garanganze Missions of the Plymouth Brethren led by Dan Crawford. Others who had been regarded as Yeke were re-absorbed back into the Wasanga ethnic group. Consequently the Yeke or Garanganze today number only about 20,000 and speak Kisanga and Swahili, the Yeke language (Kiyeke) being used only for ceremonial occasions.
Read more about Garanganze People: Mwami Mwenda Chieftainship
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