How safe are you on Lake Victoria?

Apr 11, 2008

WHAT started as a leisure ride for former minister Bakoko Bakoru’s family, turned into one of regret. The family had just set out for a boat ride on Lake Victoria on New Year’s eve, when suddenly, the boat’s engine failed. They were only rescued by a fishing boat!

By Carol Natukunda
and Conan Businge


WHAT started as a leisure ride for former minister Bakoko Bakoru’s family, turned into one of regret. The family had just set out for a boat ride on Lake Victoria on New Year’s eve, when suddenly, the boat’s engine failed. They were only rescued by a fishing boat!

“The boat stopped twice and the pilot restarted it. As we entered deeper into the lake, the waters became rougher. And the boat quickly filled with water,” narrated the traumatised Faith Lynn, Bakoko’s daughter.

As though that was not bad enough, their lifesaver jackets, which should have provided a great deal of consolation, were inadequate. “My wife had to surrender her lifesaver jacket for our son. The boat rocked very violently and was close to sinking. It was clear we were in danger,” recounted Lynn’s shaken husband.

Barely a month later, over 26 people drowned on the same lake after their canoe collided with a fish vessel at the border of Mukono and Mayuge districts.

The victims comprised of fish traders who operate around Lake Victoria, while the cargo vessel had 2.5 tonnes of fish aboard. Sixteen of them survived by literally swimming to the shore. They narrated that their boat was smashed to pieces, plunging them into the water. “We heard a deafening creaking sound before the impact. Seconds later, we realised that we were drowning,” said Mwene Zakayo who swam to safety after clinging on a floating jerrycan.

The two incidents raise questions on how safe it is to travel on Lake Victoria, Africa’s biggest water body. According to the Marine Police, about 7,665 people have died on the waters on Uganda in the last seven years.

However, the biggest percentage of the water accidents go unreported. “On a daily basis, there are 2-3 people, who die on Uganda’s waters. Accidents involving fishing boats are not normally reported, and that could be the biggest figure,” explains Inspector Opolot Benedict, who is also the liaison officer of the Marine Unit. If three people die daily, it means over 1,000 people are dying, annually, due to water accidents.

Simon Peter Okochi, the Commandant of the Police Marine Unit says these accidents are caused by weak laws, overloading and use of small horse-power out- board engines for big boats.

He also cites many submerged obstacles in the waters, strong unpredicted waves, drunken sailing and impaired vision at night due to operators’ negligence.

Much of the blame has been put on the transport ministry, which seems to have left the water transport system exclusively in the hands of the small and private operators.

The ministry only oversees six Government-owned ferries across the country, leaving any ordinary operators to have a field day on Uganda’s water masses, albeit with laxity. Take for instance, the boat that capsized earlier this month. Mwene, the survivor, said they were relying on stars to guide them across the lake, as late as 10:00pm.

“That is negligence of the operators. How do you travel in the dark without visual aids?” asks Winfred Butazi, the Mayuge district Police Commander.
Lack of trained personnel also remains a challenge. In the absence of a shipping academy in Uganda, many people only learn to ride the boats by themselves or through their friends and relatives in the fishing community.

“Anyone seems to be riding the boat. Surely a trained person should be able to follow the designated routes to avoid colliding with others, follow the compass direction and know how to adjust their sail times when the waves are rough. Even water has black spots just like roads,” Badru Nyenje, the national coordinator of the Uganda Passengers Protection Association, observes.

Like for the case of the Bakoko family, hardly are passengers donning the safety garments like the life saver jackets. “These are things that should be made mandatory,” says Nyenje, adding that most of these deaths are avoidable. “Instead of having more people drowning, why doesn’t the Government avail these life saving jackets, by say, removing taxes on them?”

Part of the problem is also due to naive passengers. People carry each other and jump onto an overloaded boat. There is hardly any emergency team on the waters, nor is there patrol Police to rescue the victims. In many instances, the rescue team arrives hours after the accident.

There are only six Police emergency rescue units on all lakes in Uganda. They are on the islands of Buvuma, Kalangala and Lorwe, as well as Kasensero landing site. The others are on Lake Albert at Butyaba, and Bukungu in Kamuli.

Transport state minister, Simon Ejua, says whereas anyone has a right to use the lake for transport, just like roads, they are required to get a license from the Transport Licensing Board. “When they apply, the board has a team, which does thorough inspection of their vessels.

When the board is fully satisfied, it issues certificates of worthiness and a licence to operate,” Ejua says. “They receive licences on condition that they guarantee the safety of passengers and provide life jackets.” “Small boats,” he adds, “are not supposed to go deeper into the lakes.”

Ejua says the marine Police acquired four rescue boats during the Commonwealth Summit in last year. “They are available. Even the Civil Aviation Authority in Entebbe has some rescue vessels. We also encourage private companies to come in,” he says.

“In addition,” says the minister, “East African Community countries are planning a joint search and rescue team. Under this, each country will have a search and rescue centre to coordinate with the general one.”

Ejua reveals that the ministry plans to review the laws regarding inspection of the vessels, licensing, control of the landing sites and the general water transport operations. The Lake Victoria Act passed by the East African legislative assembly, last year covers inspections, qualifications of the crews, how to jointly handle accidents among others,” says Ejua.

Ejua also admits that many people have to go as far as Mombasa, in Kenya, to study water transport. He points out that although some private institutions in Uganda offer some training on water transport, it is not enough.

Precautions for travellers on Ugandan lakes


  • Ensure you have life jackets

  • Don’t travel on an overloaded boat

  • Watch out for the weather
    conditions

  • Avoid night travel

  • Make research about the operators before you seek their service. Are they licensed?

  • In case of emergency call the Police Marine Unit on 0712 667732, 0712 667731, 0712 594489 or 0712 952310. The Marine Unit is located at Kigo about 500m off Entebbe Road. The patrol boats are at standby 24 hours, with the necessary kits.

  • (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});