Namayingo in mourning as four drown in Lake Victoria within three days

Namayingo, Uganda: Shock has engulfed residents of Maruba fish landing site, Bukewa Parish, Buhemba Sub County in Namayingo district when a 50-year-old man identified by one name as Embulu drowned in the waters of Lake Victoria, dying on the spot early morning on Wednesday.

The latest tragedy occurred on Wednesday morning at Maruba fish landing site, Bukewa Parish, Buhemba Sub County, where a 50-year-old fisherman identified only as Embulu drowned at around 6:00 a.m. while attempting to retrieve fishing nets from the water.

According to residents, Embulu had left his companion in the boat and dove into the lake, only to fail to resurface. His body had not been recovered by press time, with community members still combing the waters.

“They were two people in a boat, and the cause of his death, Embulu, decided to leave his friend in a boat and dive down into the water to bring fishing nets out of the water. He died on the spot and his body has not been discovered, but people are still on the search for his body,” said a resident identified as Nabwire.

Mr. Egesa Wilberforce Odwori, the LC3 Chairperson of Buhemba Sub County, confirmed the incident and expressed condolences to the bereaved family. He said this marked the third drowning in his jurisdiction within a single week.

“This is the third incident on Lake Victoria in just a few days. We appeal to the government to support the people of Buhemba with startup capital so they can diversify into other livelihoods. Fishing is becoming riskier every day,” Mr. Egesa said.

This comes after two other incidents of drowning at Lake Victoria in Namayingo district in Buhemba Sub County and Bukaana Sub County.

Early morning on Monday at around 5 am, shock hit locals of Mpanga fish landing site, Bukewa parish, Buhemba Sub County when two people drowned in the water and one died on the spot.

It is reported that one Muyindi Kewanu, 28, who was a footballer, died on the spot. His colleague, Makoha, 23, survived and was rushed to a nearby health facility for emergency care. The preliminary cause of the accident cited was the strong winds on the water.

Another incident happened yesterday, on Tuesday night at around 9 pm when a tragedy befell residents of Mugabe village, Bukaana Sub County in Namayingo district when 18-year-old youth identified as Maloo Thomas, a son of Mr. Maloo Nachani and Ms. Namulwani, all residents of the same village, drowned in the waters of Lake Victoria and died on the spot.

The incident took place yesterday night at around 9 p.m., and the locals swiftly responded to the rescue, but unfortunately, it was too late to save the life of Thomas, as relatives and locals explain more

Efforts to save the life of Maloo were unsuccessful as the rescue mission was delayed. The local leaders, led by Mr. Wejuli Obadiya, the area LC1 chairman, said that the deceased’s lifeless body was discovered by the youth chairperson, Mr. Patrick Obadiya, who later informed authorities.

“It is very unfortunate that we have lost another person who had gone fishing on Lake Victoria. We ask the government of Uganda to support our people with standard fishing gear to save the lives of the fishing communities,” Obadiya said, before asking fishermen to be so vigilant while on the lake.

Local leaders and residents are now calling for immediate intervention from the government to provide safe fishing equipment and promote alternative sources of income for lakeside communities, citing increasing fatalities on the lake due to poor safety measures and extreme weather conditions.