In the year 1875, explorer Henry Morton Stanley surveyed the geographical area of the village of Kageye and wrote that this village is located 25 miles (39 kilometers) from the shores of Nyanza or Lake Victoria, east of the city of Mwanza, near the small town of Kayenze, 16 miles (24 kilometers) from the Sukuma museum in Bujora. Kageye is a village under the Sukuma Kingdom. This area is said to have been established about 400 years ago by a notable person named Nkanda, who was known for appointing his nephews, the Babinza, as chiefs. When Kageye began to be known and famous, the Sukuma Kingdom was under Chief Nkingwa Machimu, who lived in the village of Ng’wakipili, now called Kibambi, near Nyanguge. The chief's assistant in the Kageye area at that time was called Kaduma Nguku.

**The Slave Trade**

In East Africa, the slave trade was carried out by Arabs. This trade continued worldwide despite the outcry from figures like Dr. Livingstone. By 1830, the slave trade had been abolished in the British Empire. In 1845, the Sultan of Zanzibar also announced a ban on the transportation of slaves, although slavery remained legal within his rule. Kageye was very famous for the slave trade involving slaves from Buganda and Ukerewe. According to records from many missionaries baptized during that time, they were slaves purchased by the missionaries themselves, often young, because the missionaries did not have enough money to buy adult slaves.

In 1890, a German named Stuhlmann banned the slave trade at the Arab stations of Masanza, Magu, and Kayenze by directly prohibiting human trafficking. Following this action, Stuhlmann found hundreds of freed slaves, many of whom were not Sukuma. There were also those from Kilwa, as well as Wabemba and Wagogo.

**Explorers**

The first geographer to enter the African continent and provide some limited and insufficient information about the journey of a Greek named Diogenes was Marinus of Tyre from Syria. This Greek traveled within Africa for 25 days and saw the great lakes. It is said that at that time there were no Sukuma living in these areas. Africa was a continent unknown to Europe, and what intrigued many was the desire to discover the source of the Nile River. Many prominent scholars, including Dr. Livingstone, died without providing any information about the source of the Nile. The first to glimpse Lake Victoria was Speke, who was informed by an Arab that there was a very large lake north of Tabora called Kazeh at that time. After receiving information about this large lake, Speke traveled north and succeeded in seeing Lake Victoria on August 3, 1858, while standing on the hill of Isamilo in Mwanza. After spending a few days with an Arab named Mansur of Ngombe, he then visited King Kingo of Ng’wanza, and upon returning to Tabora to meet his friend Burton, he exclaimed “Eureka!” meaning “I have discovered; I have found the source of the Nile!” Burton dismissed him because he had not seen the Nile River itself.

When they returned to England, the geographical society sent Speke and Grant again to trace the actual source of the Nile. They left England in November 1860, passed west of Lake Victoria, crossed the Kagera River in Karagwe, and on July 28, 1862, they reached the Ripon Falls where the Nile River begins. There, they agreed that Speke was correct that the source of the Nile is Lake Victoria.

However, another question arose: was the lake they saw at the Nile Falls the same one that Speke had seen at Isamilo in Mwanza? At that time, there was no one to confirm this. After Stanley returned from rescuing Dr. Livingstone, he arrived in England and was sent back to Africa to circumnavigate the lake to verify if it was indeed Lake Victoria.

Henry Morton Stanley left Zanzibar on November 17, 1874, with 356 people, including 3 Europeans. He traveled 720 miles from the coast to Kageye, taking 103 days. In his caravan, he had taken parts of a boat called 'Mama Alice,' which he assembled upon reaching the crossing at Kageye on February 27, 1875. On March 8, 1875, Stanley left Kageye with 11 porters, leaving his entire caravan in Kageye under Ng’wanangwa Kaduma. He arrived at the Ripon Falls and found the lake pouring its waters into the White Nile on April 12, 1875. He then began to return to Kageye via the western route taken by Speke and Grant in order to circumnavigate the lake.

When he started his journey around the lake, he received news that the people he had left in Kageye were critically ill with dysentery, and the European Fredrick Barker died on April 23, 1875, followed by five African porters, including Mabruki, who had also served Dr. Livingstone, Speke, and Burton and was a favorite of Stanley, along with Akida and Jabir. After receiving this sad news, Stanley decided to retrace the same route he had taken from Kageye. Upon arriving in Kageye on May 2, 1875, Stanley marked graves for his fallen companions.

Other notable explorers who passed through Kageye include Dr. Fisher, a German who crossed Kageye in December 1885 coming from Buganda. Dr. Junker, a Russian of Jewish descent from St. Petersburg who was working in exploration in Sudan and Egypt, visited Kageye and went to Bukumbi, Busambilo, and Kipalapala where he met Tipu-tip who helped him find porters to accompany him to the coast.

**Christian Missionaries and Research Expeditions**

Dr. Livingstone's journey and the report he gave upon returning to England in 1856 led to the arrival of various missionaries in East Africa. Dr. Livingstone's report was followed by Stanley's emphasis on the urgent need to spread Christianity in the land of Buganda. The Church Mission Society (C.M.S.) was sent based on the views of the English to establish a true religion, reform existing customs, abolish the slave trade, and promote legitimate trade. Initially, 8 men were sent led by Lt. Shergold Smith. Others included Thomas 'O' Neili, Mr. James Robertson, Pastor Wilson, Alex Mackay, Dr. John Smith, and two artists. These individuals left Zanzibar on July 1, 1876, with supplies to build a boat to take them to Buganda.

On their journey, they faced many challenges and delays, including delays from porters, fevers, bribes, or taxes paid to chiefs every time they arrived in a certain Kingdom, and eventually reached Kageye at the home of Ng’wanangwa Kaduma on January 29, 1877. On May 11, 1877, Dr. John Smith died of fever and was buried near Barker's grave in Kageye.

**Conflict with Chief Lukonge**

Ng’wanangwa Kaduma and an Arab trader named Songolo were building a boat on Ukerewe Island, which took them three months. The missionaries purchased this boat for 150 U.S. dollars and also paid 14 U.S. dollars for the operators. When missionaries Shergold Smith and O’Neill boarded the boat heading to Buganda, they were stopped by Chief Lukonge’s people claiming that the boat still belonged to Chief Lukonge since Songolo had not compensated him for the timber used to build it. The missionaries explained that they had paid Songolo everything related to the boat, and they were allowed to leave. As they approached the Kageye crossing, a strong wind arose, damaging the boat and breaking it into pieces. Fortunately, the missionaries managed to reach dry land at Kageye. The next day, they gathered the pieces of the boat and piled them beside Ng’wanangwa Kaduma’s house.

These missionaries left Kageye again on December 4, 1877, heading to Buganda. Due to bad weather, they decided to land at Ukerewe. Unfortunately, upon landing, they found a severe conflict between Songolo and Chief Lukonge. To save his life, Songolo, upon seeing the missionaries' vessel, ran to them so they could leave with him. Chief Lukonge asked them to lower Songolo so he could kill him, but Smith humbly refused to comply, leading Chief Lukonge to order that everyone be killed except for two people who fled back to Kageye using a small boat they had, and those two provided information about Kageye. The heads of two missionaries were severed and taken to be preserved at the residence of Chief Bukindo.

After several years, trader Charles Stokes visited Chief Lukonge and asked for the heads of those missionaries; he was given them and buried them at Dr. Smith's grave.

In 1878, missionaries from Africa, established in 1868 by Cardinal Charles Levegrie, entered the country. Five missionaries from the Society of Missionaries of Africa arrived in the village of Mallya on December 24, 1878, and celebrated the first Christmas Eve in this region of the lake. The next day they continued their journey and reached Kageye on December 31, 1878, where they were warmly received by Ng’wanangwa Kaduma. Ng’wanangwa Kaduma welcomed the missionaries in the same house that the C.M.S. missionaries had used.

Without wasting time, Father Simeon Lourdel and Brother Amans Delmas, who had already purchased a small