Fishermen at Bukakkata-Senero landing site in Masaka District are mourning, following the death of their two colleagues in a tragic boat accident on Lake Victoria.
The casualties are Yiga Derrick 23 and Miiro Jamiru 20. The two drowned in the lake on Tuesday night
Mr. Jamiru Kasendwa told the media, their boat capsized as a result of strong waves in the lake. The two were using a small boat commonly known as “Para” which was later found sailing empty the following morning.
“The strong waves overturned the boat leading to the drowning, the boat they were using was not legally accepted,” he said.
Yiga’s body was recovered on Saturday morning at Nansere lake shores and Miiro’s body was found at Bukakkata, just at a short distance from the ferry dock.
Fishermen urged government of Uganda to allocate a welfare fund for them so that they can borrow and purchase the accepted fishing materials like boats, nets and engines which are quite expensive and only affordable by the rich.
Such accidents have always happened on Lake Victoria, but fishermen have never stopped using the illegal boats because of their poor welfare.
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