Bugoto: All about fish, elopement

When the Government forced encroachers out of the South Busoga central forest reserve in 1989, many displaced people converged at the nearby Bugoto landing site to start a new life. Ramanthan Muhigi, who has lived here for 30 years, tells the town's story to George Bita

By the time of the displacement of forest encroachers, Bugoto had only six retail shops belonging to Buyinza Konyo, Mzee Abadi and Azedi Nganda. The number has of late shot up to over 30 such outlets, merchandising domestic supplies.

Like a seasoned soldier who postpones fight to another day, some farmers fled but retained secluded gardens within the forestland. They sneak back during the planting season to tend to their crops until harvest time. During such periods, the population of Bugoto becomes so low that it resembles an abandoned town.

GOOD NEIGHBOURLINESS
Bugoto is located 45km from Mayuge town, on the shores of Lake Victoria in Mayuge district. The population comprises Samias, Bagisu, Japadhola, Bagwere and Basoga. Swahili is the uniting language that is punctuated with various local dialects. There is an unwritten rule that breeds good neighbourliness in this sanctuary to the extent that it is unheard of to go to bed hungry when a neighbour has prepared a meal.

Almost all the food in the town comes from local farms. There is plenty of cassava, millet, potatoes and rice. What cannot be eaten at home is sold to traders and ferried away on trucks to markets in Mayuge or Iganga.

NAMED FOR A FISH
When Uganda had just become a British Protectorate in 1894, a colonial official visited the landing site and was given a lot of fish as a gift. The story here goes that one of the species in the catch had a long snout that mesmerised the white man, prompting his porter to explain: “Eyo ya lukooto (That fish is of the long neck type)”.

The white official tried to repeat the words, but only ended up mumbling Bugoto, leading to a new reference for the place. Fishing seems to take centre- stage here. Several varieties of fish are found on sale in the urban centre all day long, notably silver fish, Tilapia and Nile Perch.

It is not an activity without hurdles as beach management unit officers keep confiscating immature fish and fishing nets that don’t conform to the recommended mesh size. There are also sub-standard boats that are banned from the lake waters.

CRIMINAL MINDS
The law enforcers are not without blemish as they are occasionally accused of wrongdoing. Fishermen allege that after confiscating improper nets, some unscrupulous keepers-of-the-law sell them off to later seize them again for endless monetary gain. Everything seems to revolve around fish here. At the Bugoto Police post, many cases involve fishermen stealing nets from each other.

Since it is difficult to store them before spreading them out in the sun to dry after fishing, the nets are vulnerable to theft. Other cases involve moneyed fishermen going after underage girls or eloping with other people’s wives. There are also thefts of cows and goats later sold in markets elsewhere.

TRADE
Bugoto is strategically located as a mainland hub for the islands of Dolwe, Kaza, Sagiti, Masolya, Yebe, Simwe and Sigulu. Fish caught on the islands is brought ashore here in dug-out canoes referred to as Binaala.

This takes place every Tuesday evening in time for the weekly market day on Wednesday. Traders from as far as Mbale town come to purchase fish as they bring other commodities like clothes for sale in the open-air market. Some youngsters make boats at the boat-making yard or go out to fish and afterwards sell their catch by the roadside or using a door-to-door marketing approach.

WATER AND POWER
Bugoto has piped water supplied by Water Mission under the Bugoto safe water project. A water pump linked to a litre plastic tank provides the treated water at designated taps in the urban centre. But some locals cannot afford the sh100 per jerrycan fee and still rely on the lake for their water supply.

Residents usually save time by carrying their dirty clothes down to the lakeshore to wash them. It is common to chance upon locals bathing in the lake or swimming oblivious to the crocodile risk in the area. The latrine coverage in the area is very wanting with faecal matter often finding its way into the lake, especially after heavy rains.

There is no hydro-electric power in Bugoto town and residents improvise with solar or diesel generators that hum away into the wee hours of the morning. The petroleum products used, which are comparatively cheap, are mostly smuggled into town across the lake from neighbouring Kenya.

ENTERTAINMENT
Generators run televisions showing European football matches in entertainment centres. They also light up bars for revellers to drink in comfort. Kenyan-brand beers are a favourite in town. The greatest percentage of music for the listening pleasure of fun-lovers is by Kenyan artistes including Necessary Noise, Nameless, Nonini and Wawesh.

The youth are majorly jobless, spending the day playing matatu (cards) or omweso (board game). In the evenings, several of them report to the local sports fi eld for training sessions with Bugoto Football Club. The team has, in recent years featured in friendly matches in Mayuge and Bugiri.

Public transport by road to and from the area is by way of two commuter taxis and one coaster van that leave the place by 7:00am and return at 4:00pm from Jinja every day. Travel at any other time of the day is by way of boda bodas.

Nevertheless, the preference in Bugoto seems to be water transport as all essentials could easily come in from across the lake. Being an unplanned town, there are no laws against 

First published in Discovery Magazine (Sunday Vision) July 8, 2012:
Vision Group Resource Centre One of the busy streets in the town