Five feared dead as boat capsizes on Lake Victoria

Kampala. Rescuers were Wednesday evening still searching for five people who went missing following a boat accident on Lake Victoria on Monday.
The ill-fated boat, according to police, was transporting at least 10 passengers from Bukasa Island in Kalangala District to Mukono District at around 5pm.

Mr Lameck Kigozi, the southern regional police spokesperson, said the boat hit a rock near Nkese Island in Kalangala District and capsized.
“Five of the victims were rescued by the fishermen who were on the lake doing their normal business. Five others are still missing, but a joint search by our marine personnel and local fishermen to see if we can get them alive or their bodies is on,” Mr Kigozi said on Wednesday.
He said statements recorded from some of the survivors indicated that the boat was overloaded with sacks of charcoal.
Water transport is usually risky during the period between January to March and July to August due to the strong winds and turbulent waves on the lake and water transport users are always advised to wear life-saving jackets, but very few do so.

Mr Willy Lugoloobi, the Kalangala District chairperson, said the ill-fated boat was smuggling charcoal to neigbouring Kenya and all the 10 people were not putting on life jackets.
“Our people have failed to appreciate that life jackets are for their own safety, we thank God that at least five of them survived,” he said.
Despite her numerous lakes and rivers, Uganda’s water transport network remains one of the most forgotten sectors in the country. Most boats on Ugandan lakes are obsolete, unlicensed or uninsured and the landing sites are in deplorable state.
This unregulated water transport has resulted in many fatal boat accidents due to unchecked overloading, sailing on undesignated routes and use of defective boats and canoes.
During his visit to Ssese Islands in 2017, President Museveni ordered the scraping of taxes on life-saving jackets so as to enable islanders acquire them at reasonable prices.

This latest boat accident comes two years after authorities in Kalangala failed to implement a district ordinance which was envisioned a year ago to streamline water transport in the district.
The ordinance, which was passed after a heated debate in Kalangala District Council in 2017, was to curtail further death of people and the loss of cargo while in transit from distant islands to the main land.
The law demanded that all passenger and cargo boats traversing Lake Victoria acquire water worthy certificates before being cleared to carry water travellers.

Authorised
Currently, only MV Kalangala, MV Ssese and MV Pearl operated by Kalangala Infrastructure Services Ltd, SENCATA, a wooden private passenger vessel and another owned by Kalangala Forum for People Living with HIV/Aids Network possess certificates that allow them transport both passengers and cargo.

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