The Ateker is one people among a grouping of African peoples found in the Eastern African countries of South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. These people are part of a broader classification of the Continent’s linguistic groups which have been classified into two main sets: the Eastern Nilotes, who also are linguistically referred to as the Plains Nilotes; and the Southern Nilotes often also called Highland Nilotes. Among these two linguistic groupings are to be found Iteso, Karimojong, Turkana, Nyangatom, Kalenjin, Masai, Samburu, Marakwet and quite a few more cultural groups.

These people occupy large swathes of land, stretching from Southern Ethiopia and Southern Sudan to Northern Tanzania. The region around Lake Turkana is home to them, as are some of East Africa’s highlands and plains right across the East African Rift Valley.

People in these groupings share distinct attributes in their political, economic and cultural outlook and practices. The over-all guiding political principle in their governance system is egalitarianism, while their economies run along a spectrum: from nomadism to sedentary agriculture. While the Plains Nilotes tend to focus more on nomadism, Southern Nilotes will keep animals but are also settled into farming crops.  Whether Eastern or Southern Nilotes, these people are proud owners of rich cultures associated with their political and economic systems, enhanced by inter-cultural interactions over many centuries.

Among the Eastern Nilotes is to be found an Ateker cluster known as Iteso. Iteso are found in South Sudan, in western Kenya and in eastern Uganda, as well as in Ethiopia’s southern nations nationalities and peoples territory. In Uganda their homeland consists of ten districts namely: Soroti City, Soroti District and the districts of Amuria, Bukedea, Kaberamaido, Kalaki, Kapelebyong, Katakwi, Kumi and Ngora. These districts, including the ubiquitous fingers of Lake Kyoga and other water bodies and swamps in the area, occupy 5,031.1 square miles. Geographically therefore the Ateker in Uganda occupies 5.40% of the country’s total geographical area of 93,263 square miles.

Iteso in Uganda are demographically ranked the fourth largest ethnic group in the country, according to the 2024 National Population Census. The recently concluded census recorded 3,146,078 Iteso, showing this Ateker group to comprise 6.85% of Uganda’s demographic make-up.