Over 20 Feared dead as Passenger Boat capsizes on Lake Victoria

KALANGALA, UGANDA: More than 20 people are feared dead after a boat ferrying passengers from Kasenyi landing site to Kisaba island capsized on Lake Victoria. The incident happened on Wednesday night, May 04, 2022.

Reports gathered from fishermen at Kasenyi landing site indicate that boat could have broken down when the boat engines got entangled in fishing nets, causing it to fall into the water.

Moses Musiitwa, a fisherman, says that the boat capsized between Lukuba and Misenyi island after being hit by strong winds on the lake.
“The lake has since Saturday been experiencing unusual strong winds, which usually lead to large waves. This could have worsened the situation after the engine stopped because the boat could not float freely,” he said.

Musiitwa says that although some fishermen responded to the incident, they did not manage to rescue anybody alive. He, however, says that they are optimistic that some passengers could have escaped towards the floating rock in the area, where the incident happened.

Kalangala LC V chairperson, Rajab Ssemakula and Julius Kawalya, one of the residents, says that the boat could have capsized with over 20 passengers although some of the passengers reportedly disembarked from the boat at Lukuba landing site in Kalangala.

“Because of the bad weather, some passengers heading to Kisaba disembarked and used boda bodas to Kisaba. When the boat left for Kisaba, the engines got stuck in the laid fishing nets and capsized,” Ssemakula said.
Adding that “As of now some people are on surrounding stones. There are rescuers from the surrounding areas trying to save those who are still alive. We don’t know yet how many died but among the survivors is the coxswain.”

Kawalya also notes that “when the boat reached Lukuba, some people got off because it was becoming late to use land to Kisaba. However, when it had started on its way to Kisaba it got distorted by the fishing nets and it capsized. Marine police officers and rescuers are still looking for the people as I talk now.”

However, a police statement this morning reported no deaths from the Kisenyi landing site incident, and instead said all 9 people who were aboard the boat got off safely.

“9 people who were on the boat all got off safely. Both engines have been retrieved from the waters by our marine officers,” police said on Thursday morning.

Police further warned that transport boats are not allowed to move and night and the culprits from the incidents including the boat owner and operator shall be charged accordingly when investigations are done.

“It should be remembered that transport boats are not allowed to move at night. Therefore, we shall prefer charges against the boat owner when we receive all the facts.”

By press time, no dead body had been rescued so far from the waters, but efforts from both marine officers and residents were underway to establish any fatalities and confirm the exact number of deaths.

It should be recalled that in November 2018, President Yoweri Museveni ordered “the electronic registration and monitoring of all the boats so that we can know who is where on the lake and why.” following a boat accident on Lake Victoria that left 31 people dead.