Ssezibwa Regional Police have confirmed the drowning of five people who boarded an overloaded boat from the Kirongo landing site heading to the Kiyindi landing site on Thursday evening.
The victims have been identified by one name: Kabenge, a boat operator, Karisimati (a butcher at Kirongo trading center), Nalongo (a silverfish trader), Tom (a dealer in fish maw), and a woman whose identity remains unknown.
An eyewitness Elisa Mukisa, a primary six pupil at Kirongo- Primary School located at Busamuzi Sub County in Buvuma District says the boat was loaded with about five cows, one sack of silver fish (Mukene), and one motorcycle.
According to the preliminary findings by the police, the boat operator hired it from one Omoro, a resident of Kiyindi town before sailing to Kirongo to load it with cows.
It is allegedly said that the boat operator was advised to offload some of the cows before setting off but insisted on taking them saying he is a senior in cruising boats, started the engine, and left Kirongo landing site.
According to SP Hellen Butoto, the Ssezibwa Regional Police Spokesperson, screaming was heard in the middle of the lake by boat occupants asking for help as the boat was sinking.
“The rescue team from Kirongo landing site followed using another boat but didn’t find anybody apart from a capsized boat with four bodies of dead cows tied on the boat which they brought back to Kirongo landing site,” Butoto says.
She further reveals that they so far managed to retrieve one human body of the woman identified as Nalongo and four remains missing.
She adds that the scene taken has been handed over to marine officers at Kiyindi who are working tirelessly to recover the remaining bodies and other property that were loaded on the boat.
This year, this is the second tragic incident to happen on Lake Victoria in Buvuma. At the beginning of this year, a boat, which was reportedly overloaded with a non-specified number of people broke into two pieces and capsized shortly before docking at Zinga Island.
So far 14 people have been successfully rescued and five bodies retrieved. Bugaya LC III Chairperson Jodoro Sserwanja noted that most of these were returning from the Passover night organized at one of the shrines at Zigunga Island to usher in the New Year.
English 