East African kingdom that flourished from the 16th to the 19th century west of Lake Victoria (Victoria, Lake), in present-day Uganda. Bunyoro was established by invaders from the north; as cattle keepers, the immigrants constituted a privileged social group that ruled over the Bantu (Bantu peoples)-speaking agriculturalists. The kingdom continued to expand under its priest-kings until about 1800, when it started to lose territory to its neighbour, Buganda. Bunyoro's last ruler, Kabarega, was deposed in 1894 by the British, who favoured Buganda; the kingdom was absorbed into the British protectorate in 1896.