Heavy winds disrupt business on Lake Victoria islands

KALANGALA - It has become a common phenomenon for Cyclones, winds accompanied by heavy rains to hit different islands on Lake Victoria, disrupting business and in some cases leaving hundreds homeless.

Earlier March 4th, several passengers who were planning to travel from Lujjabwa island, Mazinga sub-county in Kalangala district narrowly survived drowning after heavy winds accompanied by rain hit their boat and turned it into wreckage.

This happened at 8:00am, on Tuesday. After loading cargo onto the boat that traverses from Lujjabwa via Lake Victoria to Lambu in Masaka, passengers started embarking on it to start sailing.

Jovan Kyakulagira, an eyewitness, narrates that these winds started normally; however, they were joined by a cyclone which entangled all the boats including fishing boats, unroofed over 10 houses leaving over 20 people homeless.

“We have been lucky that the boat was still in the landing site and only one person was injured with a fractured hand while trying to save it,” says Kyakulagira.

Past incidents 

On 22 January 2025, heavy winds erased people’s houses at the Lwazi-Bubeke landing site leaving over 100 islanders homeless and one person injured.

In March 2024, over 50 islanders at Kananansi landing site in Bujumba sub-county were left homeless as heavy winds and rain blew their houses away.

During an interview last year with New Vision online, Joseph Byaruhanga, the Kalangala district Forest Officer warned islanders who have destroyed 50% of forest cover of the risk of having constant cyclones which will lead to crop destruction, human life injuries, house destruction as well as receiving heavy storms on Lake Victoria.

“The traverse from Kenya and Tanzania where the only barriers were forests. These have been replaced with rice growing and other crops which are never resistant and human settlement is at stake now,” says Byaruhanga.

Resty Nakawungu, the Mazinga sub-county Councillor, appealed to the district disaster management committee to report instantly to the office of the Prime Minister to avail some relief in form of building materials so that people replace their destroyed houses.

“We will not ask for food because our people have enough but it’s too expensive to reconstruct such houses whenever they are destroyed,” says Nakawungu.

Islanders stranded

Lujjabwa island is lacking passenger boats since the first one sunk in Lake Victoria leaving 5 people drowned in September 2024. Passengers are optimistic that soon, they will resort to rickety fishing boats so that they can transport their commodities from Masaka or Kasenyi.

Joseph Mwero has called on their leaders who try to ease transport in islands to consider Mazinga since it’s the furthest sub-county among the seven that makeup Kalangala district.

Last month Feb, Kyamuswa legislator together with Nyanza Evergreen waterways opened up a new route plied by MV Nathalie, a modern and swift boat from Dajje to Kasenyi connecting different islands in Bufumira sub county however, Mazinga islands were left out.