The Mbukushu of Namibia

The Mbukushu of Namibia, numbering approximately 54,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group indigenous to Southern Africa. They primarily live along the Okavango River, in regions such as Ngamiland (Botswana), the Okavango Delta, the Kavango region (Namibia), and into southern Angola and southwestern Zambia. and can also be known as Hambukushu, Mbukushu. They are an Indigenous people, in the Bantu, Central-South people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion. They primarily speak Mbukushu.

Mbukushu in Botswana photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Mbukushu

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Namibia
People Cluster: Bantu, Central-South
Primary Language(s): Mbukushu (mhw)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 54,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG015455
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Mbukushu of Namibia

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

%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mbukushu
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

%
Mbukushu Speakers

Media Resources in Mbukushu:

Films:

Bible Resources in Mbukushu:

Or check out the Mbukushu bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Mbukushu

The Mbukushu are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Mbukushu

The Mbukushu 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.

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

Next steps for the Mbukushu

The Mbukushu 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Mbukushu of Namibia

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
readMatthew 5:44-45

Pray for those who don't know Jesus to encounter believers who are kind and compassionate and that their imitation of Christ will serve as a testimony that attracts lost people to Jesus.

Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
readGenesis 2:7

Pray that Christians will be able to share the hope of Christ with suffering people and that He will breathe new life into their souls.

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
readPsalm 100:3-4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be in awe of the Lord God, their Creator, and will give Him thanksgiving and praise.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
readEphesians 6:11

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will put on the full armor of God so that they will be able to stand against the schemes of the enemy.

Mbukushu (ROP3 - 106490) 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.

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