Surviving the plane crash has made us heroes â€" Kigungu fishermen
Mar 23, 2009
KARIM Mubajje will forever count himself lucky after escaping last week’s horrendous plane crash on Lake Victoria. He was in his fishing boat when the plane’s metal parts hit his boat, splitting it into two. To him, nothing can explain his survival, e
By Raymond Baguma
KARIM Mubajje will forever count himself lucky after escaping last week’s horrendous plane crash on Lake Victoria. He was in his fishing boat when the plane’s metal parts hit his boat, splitting it into two. To him, nothing can explain his survival, except the fact that God loves him.
The crash occurred on Monday morning when the plane failed to take off, crashing into the lake. It killed all the 11 people on board. However, Mubajje’s only source of livelihood — the boat — was irreparably damaged and he has no clue on which authorities to approach for reparations. The boat engine was submerged. He also lost the fishnets and that night’s catch.
Sunday started like any other day. Mubajje, who lives in the small fishing village of Kigungu, spent the day resting. At 3:00pm, along with his fishing partner John Batte, they set sail to fish at night.
Peter Kintu, a fisherman, says it is cost-effective to fish at night than during the day.
“During the day, you make many trips from the lake to the mainland to escape the scotching sun, but at night, when one feels tired, he can sleep in the boat.
“Even then, the night’s catch remains fresh in the boat because of the coldness; yet during the day, the fisherman has to take the fish to the shore because the boats have no refrigeration,†Kintu reasons.
For these reasons, Mubajje prefers to fish under the cover of darkness. So that night, Batte and Mubajje cast their nets in wait; with the hope that they would drag the fishnets out, laden with fish, which they would sell to traders at Kigungu.
At 1:00am, as he had routinely done, Batte awoke to check whether the nets had yielded any catch. All the while, none of the two men anticipated what was to happen four hours from that moment.
At 5:15am, still on the lake, Mubajje witnessed something unusual. A plane had just taken off at Entebbe International Airport, but it flew low and was blazing with flames from its rear.
For the decade he has lived in Kigungu, Mubajje has mastered the sounds of planes during take-off and landing. He can tell the sound of a Boeing, Cessna or Antanov.
“But the sound from this particular plane was awkward and the plane was heading in our direction,†Mubajje recalls.
Mubajje feared that the oncoming plane would knock them and it would be wise to steer the boat away. But Batte assured his friend that it was a Kenya Airways plane taking off from Entebbe to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Kenya, and within seconds it would be airborne. However, in less than a minute, before Batte could conclude his reasoning, the burning plane was fast-floating towards the tiny boat, with metal parts flying. In an instant, the morning was heated by the flames.
“There was a bigger boat which fled the scene in time. The plane’s wing hit our boat and split it into two. Our fish catch spilled in the water and the plane’s metal parts were trapped by the fishnets. I did not hope to survive and thought I was going to die either in the fire or in the water,†Mubajje recalls.
In the heat of the struggle to survive, Batte recalled a spiritual medium who told him that he would perish in a fire. At this moment, Batte knew his end had come. Today, he is not only lucky to be alive, but has also disproved what was foretold about him.
In the meantime, Saleh Kawuki awoke from his shack at Kigungu to perform the Muslim dawn prayer, the salatu-l-fajr, when he heard a bang from the direction of the lake.
“It was the sound of an explosion; but I did not know what it was at first. I had stayed awake the previous night watching the English FA Cup,†Kawuki recalls.
“When I heard the explosion, I
thought the country had been attacked by terrorists,†said Abdul Kiggundu, another fisherman.
The folks in this tiny fishing village of Kigungu live in constant fear of plane crashes since Entebbe Airport is nearby. According to Kawuki, last week’s plane crash is not the first they have witnessed, and may not be the last.
The first crash in the area involved a cargo plane in 2005. That day, Kawuki recalls, it had rained and the weather was misty with poor visibility over the lake. The Police and divers salvaged the cargo from the wreckage. Yet still to the fishing folk in Kigungu, it was the most unlikely news to hear that their colleagues had died in a plane crash. How would it be explained that fishermen had died in a plane accident?
Many of the fishermen have seen their colleagues drown in the lake, but no one had ever been involved in a plane accident. Overnight, the two survivors, Mubajje and Batte have become heroes and are referred to as Kawonawo (survivors) in Kigungu.
Badru Mujumba wonders: “They would think you were a passenger in the plane; yet you have never even seen its interior. Even generations to come would question how such a thing could have happened — a fisherman to die in a plane crash.â€
To the fishing community in Kigungu, the scene of last week’s accident is known to them as Magombe, translated as graveyard. This is because several fishermen have lost their fishnets at this spot, which get caught by a giant reef beneath the lake water. “There is a big rock under the water which cuts our fishnets and sucks them. Even divers fear the rock. I have lost many fishnets at that place,†says Kiggundu, one of the fishermen.
As the plane burned, curious fishermen rowed fast from the mainland to the scene. But none of them would expect any survivors in the blaze. The duo remained perched on a splinter wood of their boat. To cool off the heat, they would occasionally go under the water. The lake surface reeked of aviation fuel. “We called out for help, but none of them could hear us. We were in the fire struggling and none of the boats would move close to the blaze,†Mubajje says.
Luckily, the lake winds blew them in the opposite direction and they managed to use their arms as oars to steer away from the fire atop the splinter.
“I lost all my money and I had to remove my jacket and trousers because they were too heavy while I swam,†says Mubajje.
A fire boat arrived at the scene after almost 30 minutes. But Mubajje’s Nokia phone had long ceased to operate after it got soaked in water.
“When I arrived on the shores on the rescue boat, I was only in boxers.â€
KARIM Mubajje will forever count himself lucky after escaping last week’s horrendous plane crash on Lake Victoria. He was in his fishing boat when the plane’s metal parts hit his boat, splitting it into two. To him, nothing can explain his survival, except the fact that God loves him.
The crash occurred on Monday morning when the plane failed to take off, crashing into the lake. It killed all the 11 people on board. However, Mubajje’s only source of livelihood — the boat — was irreparably damaged and he has no clue on which authorities to approach for reparations. The boat engine was submerged. He also lost the fishnets and that night’s catch.
Sunday started like any other day. Mubajje, who lives in the small fishing village of Kigungu, spent the day resting. At 3:00pm, along with his fishing partner John Batte, they set sail to fish at night.
Peter Kintu, a fisherman, says it is cost-effective to fish at night than during the day.
“During the day, you make many trips from the lake to the mainland to escape the scotching sun, but at night, when one feels tired, he can sleep in the boat.
“Even then, the night’s catch remains fresh in the boat because of the coldness; yet during the day, the fisherman has to take the fish to the shore because the boats have no refrigeration,†Kintu reasons.
For these reasons, Mubajje prefers to fish under the cover of darkness. So that night, Batte and Mubajje cast their nets in wait; with the hope that they would drag the fishnets out, laden with fish, which they would sell to traders at Kigungu.
At 1:00am, as he had routinely done, Batte awoke to check whether the nets had yielded any catch. All the while, none of the two men anticipated what was to happen four hours from that moment.
At 5:15am, still on the lake, Mubajje witnessed something unusual. A plane had just taken off at Entebbe International Airport, but it flew low and was blazing with flames from its rear.
For the decade he has lived in Kigungu, Mubajje has mastered the sounds of planes during take-off and landing. He can tell the sound of a Boeing, Cessna or Antanov.
“But the sound from this particular plane was awkward and the plane was heading in our direction,†Mubajje recalls.
Mubajje feared that the oncoming plane would knock them and it would be wise to steer the boat away. But Batte assured his friend that it was a Kenya Airways plane taking off from Entebbe to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Kenya, and within seconds it would be airborne. However, in less than a minute, before Batte could conclude his reasoning, the burning plane was fast-floating towards the tiny boat, with metal parts flying. In an instant, the morning was heated by the flames.
“There was a bigger boat which fled the scene in time. The plane’s wing hit our boat and split it into two. Our fish catch spilled in the water and the plane’s metal parts were trapped by the fishnets. I did not hope to survive and thought I was going to die either in the fire or in the water,†Mubajje recalls.
In the heat of the struggle to survive, Batte recalled a spiritual medium who told him that he would perish in a fire. At this moment, Batte knew his end had come. Today, he is not only lucky to be alive, but has also disproved what was foretold about him.
In the meantime, Saleh Kawuki awoke from his shack at Kigungu to perform the Muslim dawn prayer, the salatu-l-fajr, when he heard a bang from the direction of the lake.
“It was the sound of an explosion; but I did not know what it was at first. I had stayed awake the previous night watching the English FA Cup,†Kawuki recalls.
“When I heard the explosion, I
thought the country had been attacked by terrorists,†said Abdul Kiggundu, another fisherman.
The folks in this tiny fishing village of Kigungu live in constant fear of plane crashes since Entebbe Airport is nearby. According to Kawuki, last week’s plane crash is not the first they have witnessed, and may not be the last.
The first crash in the area involved a cargo plane in 2005. That day, Kawuki recalls, it had rained and the weather was misty with poor visibility over the lake. The Police and divers salvaged the cargo from the wreckage. Yet still to the fishing folk in Kigungu, it was the most unlikely news to hear that their colleagues had died in a plane crash. How would it be explained that fishermen had died in a plane accident?
Many of the fishermen have seen their colleagues drown in the lake, but no one had ever been involved in a plane accident. Overnight, the two survivors, Mubajje and Batte have become heroes and are referred to as Kawonawo (survivors) in Kigungu.
Badru Mujumba wonders: “They would think you were a passenger in the plane; yet you have never even seen its interior. Even generations to come would question how such a thing could have happened — a fisherman to die in a plane crash.â€
To the fishing community in Kigungu, the scene of last week’s accident is known to them as Magombe, translated as graveyard. This is because several fishermen have lost their fishnets at this spot, which get caught by a giant reef beneath the lake water. “There is a big rock under the water which cuts our fishnets and sucks them. Even divers fear the rock. I have lost many fishnets at that place,†says Kiggundu, one of the fishermen.
As the plane burned, curious fishermen rowed fast from the mainland to the scene. But none of them would expect any survivors in the blaze. The duo remained perched on a splinter wood of their boat. To cool off the heat, they would occasionally go under the water. The lake surface reeked of aviation fuel. “We called out for help, but none of them could hear us. We were in the fire struggling and none of the boats would move close to the blaze,†Mubajje says.
Luckily, the lake winds blew them in the opposite direction and they managed to use their arms as oars to steer away from the fire atop the splinter.
“I lost all my money and I had to remove my jacket and trousers because they were too heavy while I swam,†says Mubajje.
A fire boat arrived at the scene after almost 30 minutes. But Mubajje’s Nokia phone had long ceased to operate after it got soaked in water.
“When I arrived on the shores on the rescue boat, I was only in boxers.â€