Kimera is associated with the Kitara area and is traditionally dated to approximately 1344–1374. He is identified as the founder of a new dynasty in the small chiefdom that became Buganda. His importance lies less in a securely established personal biography than in the political traditions attached to the migration and settlement of diverse refugee groups.

The traditions disagree about Kimera’s origins. One links him to a bushbuck clan of Luo origin, another to the grasshopper clan of the Bahima, while another interpretation identifies him as a member of the Basonga dynasty established at Kisozi. These conflicting accounts reflect the composite nature of the groups later associated with the Kimera complex.

The Kimera traditions describe refugee groups leaving the Bachwezi empire and moving toward the equatorial forests. They included Bantu-speaking communities from Kitara, pastoralist Bahima, Luo hunters and agriculturalists, and Bantu clans connected with the Kintu complex. Kimera’s political achievement was to establish a dynasty capable of bringing these different clan traditions into a common Buganda monarchy.