Family loses all household items in Lake Albert

ACCIDENT                  

A family has lost all their household items in Lake Albert. The items were being moved from one fishing village to another in a boat that capsized on Thursday morning.

The family was relocating from Nsongagi to Kyabarangwa fishing village in Kibiro parish, Kigorobya sub-county, Hoima district.

Nsongagi is one of the "illegal" fishing villages on the lake's shores that have been closed by immigration officials in an operation currently underway to prevent the risk of foreigners sneaking into the country and possibly spreading COVID-19.

According to the Kibiro LCI chairman, Godfrey Abigaba, the items belonged to Moniki Bana, who had been evicted from Nsongagi with his eight children. Bana had tied with ropes the boat laden with household items behind the vessel he was steering.

"He had his eight children in the boat that he was steering and it had an engine. He was using the same boat to move the boat carrying his household items behind. It capsized and the one he was steering got stuck. People traveling in four boats from Kibiro ran to their rescue," Abigaba said.

The household items which sank, Abigaba said, include mattresses, solar panels, cooking utensils, bags, plates, batteries, among others. There is a distance of about 4km between the two fishing villages.

"The boat capsized about 1km away from Kyabarangwa fishing village, which is one of the fishing villages that have not been closed. He and his children were rescued. The boat which was carrying household items was retrieved but the items could not be seen," the LCI chief said.

The immigration spokesperson, Jacob Simunyu recently said the internal affairs ministry had a taken a decision to close illegal fishing villages and reinforce security around the porous border points to head off possible COVID-19 cross border transmissions.