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The Malakote of Kenya

The Malakote of Kenya, numbering approximately 24,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Tana River people of Kenya formed through the blending of Pokomo, Orma, and Somali-Borana cultures, distinct from neighboring Pokomo-speaking communities upriver. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Ilwana is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Kenya
People Cluster: Bantu, East-Coastal
Primary Language(s): Ilwana (mlk)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 24,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014822
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Pray for the Malakote 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

85%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Ilwana
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Kiwilwana Speakers

Media Resources in Ilwana:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Ilwana:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Bible Translation and Literacy (E.A),2018✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Ilwana bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Malakote 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 Malakote:
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 Malakote of Kenya

You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it.
readPsalm 65:9

Give thanks for God's provision in nature, and pray that those who don't know Him will recognize His hand, desire to know their Creator, and hear the truth that Jesus is the solution to the world's greatest need.

Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
readMark 10:14b

Praise Jesus for the way He loves children, asking that many will learn the truth about Him and come to Him unhindered.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
readHebrews 10:23

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will cling tightly to the hope they have in God to faithfully keep His promises.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
readPsalm 57:9

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who will boldly go and share the gospel with people nearby and with those far away.

Malakote Across Countries (ROP3 - 106128) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MalakotePG014822MalakoteKenya24,000Engaged yet UnreachedIlwanaSunni Islam

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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