Change Lake 'Victoria' to Lake 'Jumuiya'?

By John Odyek and Henry Ssekanjako

Members of the East African Legislative Assembly want Lake Victoria to be renamed Lake Jumuiya, a Swahili word for unity, integration, harmony, brotherhood and communion.

The MPs were on Tuesday debating the speech delivered by President Yoweri Museveni, the chairperson of the East African Community summit of heads of state on the state of the EAC.

The speech was delivered in April during EALA’s sitting in Rwanda.

The assembly is now sitting in Uganda’s Parliamentary chambers for the next two weeks following the principle of rotational sitting in the EAC member states.

Abubakar Zein Abubakar (Kenya) said he was impressed by Museveni’s diagnosis of Africa’s weak societies that were over-run by colonialists.

He said as part of decolonising the minds of East Africans, Lake Victoria should be renamed Lake Jumuiya. The new name, he said, would symbolise the new spirit of unity in the region.

“We have unfinished business of decolonising the minds of our people by changing the name of Lake Victoria, which was given by the colonialists,” Abubakar explained.

He asked the governments of the region to consider using Swahili as the official language to ease communication in the region.

The legislators also asked governments to refrain from infringing on media freedom because a free press is an essential tenet for democracy.

Peter Mathuki, the EALA representative of Kenya, said it was vital for the region to adhere to the basic tenets that promote democracy.

“The recent closure of the Monitor newspaper and other media houses is a worrying trend. We wish to appeal to the authorities to re-consider this decision,” Mathuki said.

He added that it is time mobile phone companies dropped roaming charges in the region as the region was one block.

Abubakar D. Abdi Ogle (Kenya) said: “I appeal to the Government to lift the siege against the Monitor and other media houses. A free media is a requirement for democracy,” Ogle said.

Museveni in his address said the integration of the EAC was held back by bottlenecks which include lack of democracy, backward agriculture, export of raw materials, poor infrastructure, underdeveloped human resource, attacks on the private sector, ideological disorientation and the absence of institutions.