The forgotten victims of Lake Kyoga’s recurrent floods in Galilaaya

“This is the challenge my family has been enduring every day for the last two months. The floods have made life difficult, submerging our house, compound and garden. We have sleepless
nights. We fear that the house will be swept away while we are asleep,” the soft-spoken woman says.
The mother of two, who settled in Kitwe village a year ago, says she is afraid her baby might drown while trying to
crawl off the verandah. Because of this fear, the baby practically lives on her back, tied there securely with a piece of cloth.
Charles Oruruma, Namusana’s 53-year-old husband, is reluctant to complete construction of their home because of the recurrent floods.
“What if I should complete construction and the next day, the lake floods and our home is swept away? When I get some money, I plan to buy a plo of land in another village, construct a
house and then, relocate my family,” he says.
Lake Kyoga is a large shallow lake that covers several districts. Every year, the lake, which is fed by water from the Victoria Nile and several rivers in the Mt Elgon region, floods its banks.
Patrick Musaazi, the senior environmental officer for Kayunga District, attributes the current flooding to climate change, explaining that because of the phenomenon, the entire country is receiving excessive rainfall.
“Climate change and encroachment on the lakeshores are to blame for the flooding. We need to espouse mitigating and adaptation measures such as, planting trees around the lake which
can act as catchment areas for the water body. We are planning to carry out mass sensitisation campaigns to deter human activity in swamps and wetlands surrounding Lake Kyoga,” he says.
Although areas surrounding Lake Kyoga are prone to flooding given the nature of the topography of the area. In Kayunga district, central forest reserves like Bajjo, Kiwuula and Wanale, which were acting as water catchments are as for lake, have been cut down to pave way for sugarcane growing.
Effects of recurrent flooding Jamada Musana, the Galilaaya subcounty chairperson, says the floods from hit the area two months ago, and have cut off the three villages of Kitwe,
Kalenge and Kiryola, with an estimated 650 residents affected. Galilaaya Sub-county has a population of 24,000 people.

“The floods have submerged gardens, a school, grazing fields and have damaged boreholes. Food insecurity and waterborne diseases such as, malaria, cholera and dysentery are imminent.
This is not the first time we are being hit by floods. We had flooding in 2018 and 2021,”he says.

In 2021, an estimated 850 people were displaced from Kyedikyo village. They took refuge on a 200-acre plot of land
outside the village owned by a fellow resident of the village, where they settled for months. However, when the landowner ordered them to vacate her land, authorities in Kayunga district wrote to the Office of the Prime Miniser (OPM) for help. The OPM bought the land and divided it amongst the displaced families,with each family receiving two acres.

A medical officer at Kawongo Health Centre III, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the media in an official capacity, revealed that the facility has registered a surge in malaria, cholera, dysentery and other related waterborne diseases since the floods struck the area. The facility serves a population of 8,000.
“For instance, we used to register at least 25 cases of malaria a day but now, on average, we register 55 cases a day. This could be due to an increase in mosquito breeding grounds. We have also begun getting cases of typhoid and bilharzia, which we did not have before. However, no deaths have been reported due to flooding, so far,” says.
Veronica Namusoke, a resident of Kalenge village, which is also suffering the effects of flooding, says accessing social amenities is a challenge.
“When a child falls sick or a woman goes into labour at night, we have to look for men who can row the boats to Kawongo Health Centre III or Galilaaya Health Centre III. Recently, a pregnant
woman almost lost her life because her family had to wait for the dawn before they could find a boat operator to take her across the flooded sections of the roads to a health facility,” the 25-year-old says.

To ease transport, in 2022 the government, through the OPM donated two boats to the flooded villages. Residents pay a fee of Shs200 to use the boat service.
However, Charles Tebandeke, the Bbaale County Member of Parliament, says this should be a short-term measure.

“In the long-term, some study needs to be carried out to discover the cause of the recurrent floods and how affected residents can be relocated to safer places. The submerged sections of the roads also needed to be worked on so that normal movement could be restored. The affected people are now living on an island without the basic services of education, shops, and health centres,” he notes.
Mr Alfred Othieno, the chairman of Kawongo Landing Site Fishing Community Association, says the floods have displaced the breeding grounds of silver fish (mukene).
“The silverfish has migrated to the shorelines. We cannot find the fish in the former breeding grounds. We are now forced to dock our fishing boats in residential areas – between houses –
which are the new shorelines now. This is where the silverfish can be found. In the process of docking in such ungazetted areas, our boats are damaged by rocks,” he says.
Mukene is one of the three most important commercial fish species in Uganda. As fodder for the predatory nile perch, mukene plays an important role in the ecosystems of the lakes. Fishing for mukene on Lake Kyoga started in 1995, and is exploited for both human consumption and animal feeds manufacture. Othieno adds that his Association has written to the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries and to the district authorities about their challenges, but is yet to receive a response.
“The drying area, where we have been sun drying the silverfish, is also submerged. As a result of these challenges, the poverty levels in the fishing community are alarming. This is our main source of living,” he says.

Will the government intervene?

The borehole in Ntimba villag that had been serving 350 households, including 600 pupils of Ntimba Primary School, was submerged. Now, without a source of clean and safe water, residents drink unsafe water they collect from their flooded compounds.
“I doubt the government can come to our rescue. Even if we tell it our plight, nothing will be done. Look, the floods destroyed my pitlatrine. Now, as a family we have no option but to ease ourselves in the water surrounding the house or in the bushes, if we can find any,” Oruruma says.
However, Dan Wabomba, the Galilaaya sub-county chief, says all efforts are being made to ensure short-term and long-term intervention measures are carried out to give the affected people a better life.
“We have assessed the extent of the damage caused by the floods in the affected community. Red Cross officials have also visited the area and promised to avail tarpaulins to the victims, which they can use to construct temporary shelters in safe places. The district Disaster Management Committee has also resolved that all pupils of Ntimba Primary School be relocated to Kawongo Health Centre III where they will begin Term Two studies as the government plans to buy land for the affected persons,” he disclosed.

Andrew Muwonge, district chairperson, says while, the OPM has promised to send relief items, the residents want the government to buy land in another part of Kayunga district and relocate them, as was done with the people of Kyedikyo village.
“Lake Kyoga is home to many crocodiles, and affected residents are living in fear because crocodiles are swimming around the flooded villages. Secondly, Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) is now trying to raise the section along Bbaale-Kawongo road at Kanda where whenever flooding of Lake Kyoga occurs, the road section is submerged. In 2018, that particular
section of was submerged for about two years cutting off Kawongo landing site from the entire district. UNRA had to raise that section, and now we are raising it again. This is not sustainable,” he says.
Several districts share Lake Kyoga, and these include Kaberamaido, Kumi, Soroti, Kamuli, Pallisa, Masindi, Lira, Apac, Nakasongola and Kayunga. The lake is swampy, and at some point, the papyrus swamps covered many catchment areas of the lake. However, these have now been destroyed and replaced with sugar factories and gardens.

Important

Mukene is one of the three most important commercial fish species in Uganda. As fodder for the predatory Nile perch, mukene plays an important role in the ecosystems of the lakes.

 Fishing for mukene on Lake Kyoga started in 1995 and is exploited for both human consumption and animal feed manufacture.
Othieno adds that his Association has written toplot the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries and the district authorities about their challenges, but is yet to receive a response.

“The drying area, where we have been sun drying the silverfish, is also submerged. As a result of these challenges, the poverty levels in the fishing community are alarming. This is our main source of living,” he says.