Semei Kakungulu (1869 – 24 November 1928) was a Ugandan statesman who founded the Abayudaya (Luganda: Jews) community in Uganda in 1917. He studied and meditated on the Old Testament, adopted the observance of all Moses' commandments, including circumcision, and suggested this observance for all his followers. The Abayudaya follow Jewish practices and consider themselves Jews despite the absence of Israelite ancestry.