How Semuliki’s eroded riverbank could shift Uganda, DRC border
Women standing in front of their houses on the expanding shoreline of Lake Albert in Ntoroko District. PHOTOS ALEX ASHABA
What you need to know:
- Tributaries from Mount Rwenzori join River Semuliki in Bundibugyo District as it snakes its way through Ntoroko District to empty its water into Lake Albert, which forms a natural boundary between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, on Uganda’s side the collapse of River Semuliki’s bank is causing alarm, with farmers losing grazing land and communities losing houses, both of which have been swallowed up by the river. Local leaders are now calling on the government to intensify its efforts to construct gabions and embankments on the river bank to protect the lives of the residents and their property, and prevent a potential boundary dispute between the two countries, as Alex Ashaba writes
In April 2024, Ntoroko District Environment Officer, Herbert Kamuhanda, released a report indicating that between 20 to 25 acres of land had been lost to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) due to the collapsing banks of River Semuliki.
The most affected area was Rukora village, Bweramule Parish, in Bweramule sub-county, because farmers were cultivating bananas, cassava, sweet potatoes, and mangoes on the riverbank. However, this has since stopped because the land no longer exists. The river reclaimed it.
“During the field visit, it was found that at one point in Rukora I village, the river had left its normal course and diverted towards the Ugandan side hence changing the boundary at that point between Uganda and DRC,” the report reads in part.
Kamuhada indicated that the probable cause of the diversion was human activities such as crop cultivation, watering of large numbers of livestock, and community footpaths that run parallel to the river.
Local leaders have expressed concern that the continuous collapse of the riverbank on Uganda’s side has led to the displacement of households. Previously situated over 100 meters away from the riverbank, 14 homes have already collapsed.
William Kasoro, the LCV chairman of the Ntoroko district, explains that the situation is different on the DRC side because there is no encroachment on the riverbanks, which have experienced restoration with thick vegetation. This has caused the river to shift its course toward the Ugandan side where riverbanks are weak.
“Unlike the DRC, the Semuliki riverbank on Uganda’s side has been subjected to significant pressure from the population, leading to erosion and collapse. There are about eight spots where the banks have collapsed due to erosion. The situation is worsened during floods, as the already weak banks continue to give way," he says.
As a long-term solution, Kasoro suggests engineering interventions, such as constructing gabions filled with rocks, concrete, and sand along the riverbank. He estimates that such measures will cost the government about Shs20 billion, an investment that could save Uganda from losing more land to the DRC.
“Failure to address the erosion could lead to severe consequences such as boundary disputes. The river has already eroded about 300 meters of Uganda’s land, shifting the boundary line further into Uganda. People's gardens have been washed away, and in the coming years, many villages bordering the river will be at risk," he warns.
He adds that the siltation within the river has created fertile land, but when Ugandan farmers attempted to cultivate it in the past, they were chased away by Congolese authorities who accused them of encroaching on their territory. Ironically, this land originally belonged to Uganda.
A view of Lake Albert shoreline that has been eroded in Kanara Town Council, Ntoroko District. PHOTOS | ALEX ASHABA
Continuous flooding
Patrick Muhumuza, a resident of Kayanja village, says originally, the river was small in size but it has since expanded to reclaim grazing farms on the Uganda side.
"When I was a young man, I could see the river from a distance. But in recent years, due to constant flooding, many homes that were near the riverbank have already collapsed. A few years ago, officials from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) measured the river’s width at about 200 meters. Today, the width has now increased to over 300 meters,” he explains.
Moses Tibederana’s house is on the verge of collapsing in the river. The resident of Kayanja II village, says his family has lived on the land since 1962 but because of erosion of the river, the graves of his ancestors are now lost.
“River Semuliki has now reached the verandah of my house. One of the houses in my compound, which had nine rooms, has lost eight of them to the river. I do not have any other land, nor do I have the money to relocate to another place. I need government assistance to buy another piece of land for my family,” he laments.
Last year, Ntoroko District, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and with funding of over Shs300 million, established embankment structures at key flooding points along the Semuliki riverbank in Bweramule sub-county.
During the floods in August 2024, these embankments successfully prevented overflow in hotspot areas where water had previously displaced residents. District leaders now propose expanding the initiative to other vulnerable areas along the river to prevent further erosion.
The embankment construction involved stockpiling rocks to create sturdy barriers and backfilling with murram to block water flow into the communities. Richard Nakuru, Ntoroko district’s engineer, explained that the embankments were designed to extend 500 meters and built with a thickness of 1.5 meters above ground.
In areas where residents had dug canals, the depth was increased to two meters. Additionally, vegetation was planted along the riverbanks to enhance protection.
In 2018, the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) contracted the Natural Resource Defense Initiative (NRDI) to restore and protect River Semuliki. The project, which ended in 2022, implemented various activities to mitigate erosion and preserve the riverbank. NRDI operates a community-based model, working through elected community leaders, local government structures, religious leaders, and education institutions to implement sustainable environment conservation strategies.
Key initiatives included fencing off hotspots along the river to prevent cattle grazing near the banks, planting bamboo trees to stabilise the soil, and constructing seven water troughs away from the riverbanks for cattle keepers.
However, these efforts have been undermined by increasing human activities such as animal grazing, bush burning in buffer zones, and the destruction of the fences along the riverbanks.
Lake Albert shoreline
Beyond the collapsing banks of the Semuliki River, another pressing issue in Ntoroko district is the erosion of Lake Albert’s shoreline. The lake, which serves as a border between Uganda and DRC, has been steadily eroding land on the Ugandan side, particularly in Kanara Town Council.
Residents and local leaders report that the lake, which was once over 200 meters away from the town council, has now encroached dangerously close, putting the entire area at imminent risk of collapse. Over the past five years, the shoreline has eroded by more than 150 meters, reclaiming large swaths of land.
Several houses have already been consumed by the lake and government structures are now at risk of collapse. When Sunday Monitor visited the area, it was evident that houses, pit latrines, landing sites, and market stalls had already been swallowed by the lake. The surviving structures, including homes, hotels, and lodges, now hang precariously over the lake’s edge, some perched as high as ten meters above the water.
There are no protective barriers, leaving residents at risk of falling into the lake.
Many houses near the water’s edge have since been abandoned due to safety concerns, while others continue to be occupied despite the danger.
The situation has also disrupted fishing and transport operations. Boats that once docked safely on land now dock directly in the lake, tied to collapsing structures to maintain their docking points.
Among the critical government installations at high risk is the Shs11.3 billion Ntoroko Customs Port, managed by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA). This vital port facilitates the export of goods to and from DRC via Lake Albert and is now just meters away from being swallowed by the lake.
Some of the houses that are at risk of collapsing in River Semuliki in Ntoroko District due to expanding banks of the river
Additionally, security surveillance cameras installed to monitor activities on the lake are now precariously situated only about 30 meters from the eroding shoreline. The community and local leaders are calling for urgent intervention to stabilise the shoreline and protect lives, property, and vital infrastructure from further destruction.
The Kanara Town Council headquarters, along with several other government structures, including the local fish market, are on the brink of destruction. Parts of the fish market have already crumbled. Many vendors whose stalls were destroyed are now unemployed.
Maureen Nsiimenta, a market vendor, says the market is now directly adjacent to the lake, making it vulnerable to strong winds and waves that push water into the stalls.
“Nowadays, we see more snakes and other reptiles in our stalls because there is no natural boundary separating the market and homes from the lake. This has put our lives, and the lives of our children, at risk,” she laments.
Government response
Dr Emmanuel Brian Guma, the team leader of the Albert Water Management Zone in Western Region, a structure under the MWE, says they have spearheaded the development of catchment management plans costing approximately USD$55 million (Shs201.8 billion) for the entire Albert zone.
These plans cover nature-based solutions and water access, guiding the development and management of all water resources within the Semuliki River catchment area, which is shared between Uganda and DRC.
“Continuous flooding and the collapse of the riverbank have resulted in the siltation of the water body, which affects water quality within River Semuliki and, eventually, Lake Albert, where it discharges. This is critical because Lake Albert serves as a breeding ground for fish. Whatever happens upstream along the river impacts fish production in the lake,” he explains.
Dr Guma pointed out that the lack of vegetation cover on the Ugandan side makes it more vulnerable to flooding and riverbank collapse. In contrast, the DRC side has dense vegetation, which helps the river meander through weaker areas on the Ugandan side.
“Let me clarify the misconception about the shifting boundary between Uganda and DRC. While the river is a natural system boundary, there are international boundary coordinates demarcating both countries, which do not change. However, Uganda is losing its buffer zone soils to the river system as the bank’s collapse,” he says.
Dr. Guma said beyond developing catchment management plans, they have implemented remedial catchment measures on River Semuliki. Under the Lakes Edward and Albert Integrated Fisheries and Water Resources Management (LEAF II) Project, about one kilometer of degraded riverbank in Bweramule Sub-county was restored using nature-based solutions.
The LEAF II is a multinational project that covers the Lakes Edward and Albert basin.
“We demarcated a 100-meter buffer zone from the river - which must remain untouched - and planted bamboo trees. To prevent livestock from drinking directly from the river and weakening the bank, water source points, including troughs, were constructed outside the buffer zones. Where restoration was done, the results are visible, and there has been no further riverbank collapse,” he notes.
However, the team leader reveals that these initiatives do not cover the entire riverbank within Ntoroko district due to limited resources. In the district, the river stretches approximately 30 kilometers, out of its total length of 141 kilometers from the DRC.
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