Two fishermen drown in lake

Habib Tinka, 35, is said to have died after he dived into the lake to search for the body of Makumbi Salongo, 50.

Police in Kasese District are investigating circumstances under which two fishermen of Kahendero Landing Site in Muhokya Sub-county drowned in Lake George.

The officer in-charge of criminal investigations, Mr Godwin Tumugumye, said two fishermen had drowned.

“Two bodies are under Lake George, I can confirm. There is nothing police can do apart from investigating what might have been the cause. We are waiting to see the bodies retrieved by fellow fishermen so that we can order for a postmortem,” Mr Tumugumye said on Monday.

The victims
The chairperson of Kahendero Parish, Mr Dan Kantongole, identified the victims as Makumbi Salongo, 50, and Habib Tinka, 35.
Mr Katongole said Makumbi was the first to drown on Friday afternoon when he and a colleague, only identified as Mr Kabuyo, went fishing.

He said a search was conducted on Friday evening but in vain.
However, the Saturday morning search ended tragically as one of the local divers, Habib Tinka, never returned from the lake.

Other fishermen believe that the bodies could have been eaten by crocodiles. Crocodiles have been injuring people on the 40-kilometre Kazinga Channel that connects lakes George and Edward.

On Monday, a six man team from the Beach Management Unit at Kahendero boarded an engine boat to resume the search for the two missing bodies.

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