According to the affected residents and local leaders, their hope for the lake to return has reduced since the water has kept on diminishing. They say that more than 50 cows and 40 pigs have died due to lack of water.
A portion of Lake
Kijjanebarola in Kyalulangira sub-county-Rakai district, which mysteriously
vanished in May this year, has failed to reappear even with the current
torrential rainfall. It is nearly eight months since the incident left the
surrounding communities including Kalunga landing site, Nkundi, Lwambajjo,
Lugenda, Kawenda, Namunengo, Kigavu, Kisovu, and Lusambya villages in a
critical water crisis.
An area measuring more than seven to 10 football
fields that was left vacant has
turned into a grazing ground and farmland. The
remaining water body is too shallow.
Its depth is below the knee that some residents can walk
through it.
According to the affected residents and local leaders, their
hope for the lake to return has reduced since
the water has kept on diminishing. They say that more than 50 cows and 40 pigs
have died due to lack of water.
Madina Nansereko, a resident of Nkundi village, says they
cannot access clean and safe water for domestic use and animal consumption as
they used to. She says that
the remaining small water body was restricted for fishing and water collection by the district
fisheries authorities, which
worsened the situation leading to the death of several animals.
//Cue in: “Obulumi twatandika………………
Cue out: …………………osibirawo ewuzi.”//
Nansereko says that amid the plight, the local leaders have
not returned to meet them to find a solution for the existing water problem.
//Cue in: “Ate nabakulembeze………………
Cue out: …………………tewali yakomawo.”//
Patrick Mande, a resident of Kalunga landing site, says that they currently buy water from vendors, which they cannot sustain for a long time
since their daily earnings have also been reduced. He appealed to the district authorities and Apollo Ssansa
Kabumbuli II, the leader of Kooki Cultural Institution, to intervene and rescue
the situation.
//Cue in: “Enyanja yagenda………………
Cue out: ……………eyatuukako wano”//
According to Judith Nabisere, their suffering started two
days after the lake disappeared to date. She used to cook food for the
fishermen most of whom left the landing site a month after the lake vanished. Nabisere
explains that she lost six pigs due to lack of water, adding that she is living a desperate life
with two orphans.
//Cue in: “Era enyanja yagenda……………
Cue
out: ………kyanatuyambako naffe.”//
Jonathan Mugumya, a fisherman who remained at Kalunga landing
site, says that their district leadership
has abandoned them in time of need and no one has responded to
their plight. He says that
the miserable situation will remain until the district authorities,
the government, and well-wishers intervene and install water projects such as boreholes, taps, or water
tanks for them.
//Cue in: “Teri yajja………..……………
Cue out: ………tuyambe, tutaase.”//
According to Bashir Kaggwa, the Chairman- Lwambajjo A
village, several residents have relocated to other communities with their
livestock where they can access water. He explains that the lake was the
major source of livelihood for hundreds of residents in several communities
until when the opportunity ended.
//Cue in: “Abantu basenguse………..…
Cue out: ……………….nga tugiwagira.”//
Samuel Kaggwa Ssekamwa, the Rakai District LC 5 Chairman, told URN that they are aware of the
situation in the affected communities adding that they are still lobbying to
ensure that communities get clean and safe water. He noted that the lake
vanished at the time when the district was financially incapacitated and unable
to support the affected residents in one way or another.
//Cue in: “Nze kulwange………..…
Cue out: …………..wezinywera.”//
The Area MP-Boaz Ninsiima Kasirabo, says that they are lobbying for the construction of dams in the affected
villages to supply water for domestic use and animal consumption. He pledged to meet with the prime minister
over the same concern,
adding that the delayed interventions have led to more suffering of his
electorates.
//Cue in: “Nze
kulwange………..…
Cue out: …………..wezinywera.”//
However, Johnex Musanje, a local environmentalist, says
it is the second time the lake is disappearing after a similar incident in
1997. He explains that in May, the increasing flash floods caused too much
pressure on the existing papyrus vegetation, forced it out of the way and
created a channel that took the water away.
Davis Buyondo
Freelancer