Kenow was a male Human who fought for the Renatasian Confederation during the time of the Galactic Civil War. Growing up on a farm located within the Renatasia system, Kenow later enlisted in the military and participated in the violent Battle of the Rood. Surviving this conflict, he developed a deep and lasting friendship with Klyn Shanga, a fellow farmboy, and continued his military career, ultimately achieving the rank of Colonel. When the Galactic Empire invaded and brutally oppressed the Renatasia system during the early Imperial Era, Kenow and Shanga co-founded a vigilante organization called the Renatasian Confederation. Their primary objective was to find and exact revenge upon the "Butcher of Renatasia"—the person they believed had betrayed Renatasia to the Empire, whom they identified as the droid Vuffi Raa.
After searching for years, Kenow, Shanga, and the remaining members of the Confederation finally located Raa in the affluent Oseon system. They discovered Raa's ship, the Millennium Falcon, on the asteroid Oseon 6845. Due to the Oseon's stringent weapons regulations, Kenow infiltrated the Millennium Falcon's hangar armed only with a large pipe constructed of titanium. Instead of finding Raa, Kenow encountered Lando Calrissian, Raa's new employer who was both a smuggler and a gambler. Although Kenow initially surprised Calrissian, Calrissian quickly produced a concealed stingbeam weapon and discharged it at point-blank range into Kenow, killing him instantly.