Police have opened a new Marine Police detach at Kiwungu Landing Site in Kyamuswa County, Kalangala District.
The facility aims to strengthen emergency response and curb rampant theft in the area. Marine Police Commandant Sulaiman Kirungi said the unit will enhance the Force’s presence on the lake.
“The unit will also improve rescue operations in a region where fishermen routinely face life-threatening risks,” he said at the opening of the facility last week.
The new detach becomes the third in Kalangala District, joining Lutoboka and Nkose–Katooke Marine Police detachments under the Lake Victoria South Region Marine Police. It has been equipped with a patrol boat, an engine, and a temporary operational base at Kiwungu Landing Site.
Authorities say the Bukasa/Kiwungu detach will serve the island sub-counties of Bukasa and Bubeke, easing the workload previously shouldered by Lutoboka, which serves Bujumba and Bufumira. The Nkose–Katooke detach will continue serving Mazinga Sub-county.
Kalangala District has recorded numerous water accidents and cases of water-related theft, underscoring the urgent need for improved marine emergency response across many parts of Lake Victoria. For example, on July 1, five people almost drowned near Lwamunyo Island while heading to Kalangala and were only rescued by nearby fishermen.
On August 2, 2024, a boat accident near Nsazi Island left more than 16 people dead. Although Entebbe Marine officers rescued some survivors, they arrived late. Another tragedy occurred in 2023, when more than 20 people drowned near Bukasa Island. Only five survived.
Armed robberies remain a major threat to fishermen on Lake Victoria. The most affected landing sites include Gunga, Nkose, Bubeke Lwazi, Kisaba, Nakibanga, Kananasi, Kyagalanyi, and Jaana.
Fishermen reported that during the November 2024 attacks, the assailants spoke Luganda, unlike the July 2024 raids, where they spoke Kiswahili, fueling suspicion of cross-border criminal gangs. Much of the insecurity stems from the lack of regulation in deep waters.
“No one monitors the activities of fishermen in the deep waters; no one knows the fishing gear they use or the number of boats that go out or return. We need marine police to patrol the lake, especially in deep waters,” Mr Dick Ssenyonjjo, a fisherman in Mazinga Sub-county, said.
Kalangala Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Fred Badda, said the new detach will initially operate from a temporary base as plans to construct a permanent marine station at Kiwungu begin.
“We opened a new detach at Kiwungu Landing Site where it will operate temporarily as we prepare for its permanent establishment,” Mr Badda said.
He explained that criminal activity on the lake had become widespread, yet the nearest detach at Lutoboka struggled to respond swiftly to emergencies across far-flung island communities.
“We want the detachment to address piracy and respond to water accidents, which had become common in that area,” he added.
Mr Badda also revealed plans to establish another marine detach at Nkese Landing Site, near Tanzanian and Kenyan waters, where theft on the lake is reportedly rampant.
Residents welcomed the new detachment with cautious optimism, saying insecurity had forced many to abandon long-distance fishing. Mr Ssepi Kiyini, the LC1 chairperson of Kisaba Landing Site, said fishermen have been living in fear.
“Fishermen have repeatedly been at risk as they went to cast their nets. Some failed to return after their fuel was stolen by thieves, only to be rescued by fellow fishermen. We hope such theft will reduce,” he said.
He added that the Lutoboka detach previously served four sub-counties, making rescue missions long, costly, and largely ineffective.
“By the time the marine police sailed from Lutoboka to places like Kisaba or Bubeke, thieves would have already threatened a fisherman and taken their belongings,” he added.
Kyamuswa Member of Parliament, Moses Kabuusu urged the government to adequately fund the Marine Police.
“Having police services close to the people is good, but the personnel deployed to such areas often lack fuel to carry out their work. We request the government to facilitate these units to operate efficiently,” he said.
Lake boundaries
Local leaders in the island districts say some Ugandan fishermen are unaware of the boundaries on Lake Victoria, shared by Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, which puts them at risk of arrest or attack by armed robbers. The boundaries are imaginary, and the Ministry of Fisheries has repeatedly urged fishermen to be sensitised about them.
A decade ago, the government announced plans to close all porous border points as a security measure amid rising terror threats, but this has yet to be implemented.
According to Ministry of Internal Affairs records, Uganda has more than 300 illegal border entry points, most of them by water.
(daily monitor)