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Njeru, Jinja leaders fight over Source of the Nile
Contested. Tourists take photos at the Source of the Nile in Jinja in 2016. PHOTO BY DENIS EDEMA
What you need to know:
- To access the Source of the Nile, Jinja authorities charge Shs2,000 from students, adults pay Shs5,000, while tourists from East Africa Shs10,000 and other countries pay Shs30,000
Buikwe. Disagreements have cropped up between leaders of Njeru Municipality in Buikwe District and Jinja Municipality over management of the Source of River Nile vantage point.
Although the Source of River Nile is historically known to be in Jinja, leaders in Njeru insist the tourist site is located in their area.
The leaders claim Jinja Municipal Council authorities have for long been illegally collecting revenue from tourists visiting the site.
Njeru, which is functionally a suburb of Jinja, was a town council for decades until 2017 when it was elevated to a municipality.
Jinja, which becomes a city effective July 1 next year, has been a municipality for 62 years.
“We could not rise up to demand what belongs to us [Source of the Nile] because Njeru was still a small town , but now that it is a municipality, we want the Source of the Nile back,” Mr Yasin Kyazze, the mayor Njeru Municipality, said in an interview on Wednesday.
To access the Source of the Nile, Jinja Municipal authorities charge Shs2,000 from students, adults pay Shs5,000, while tourists from East Africa and other countries pay Shs10,000 and Shs30,000 respectively. On average, authorities collect close to Shs1b annually from the Source of the Nile.
At least 2,000 tourists, both local and foreign, visit the site per month.
Mr Rajab Kito, the Jinja Municipal Council public relations officer, scoffed at Njeru Municipal leaders, saying they are fighting a losing battle.
He said the boundaries of Jinja were clearly demarcated long time ago and that the Source of Nile is situated in Jinja.
“The boundaries of Jinja are clear, they extend up to the River Nile banks. Njeru Municipality was initially fused into Jinja before it became a town. If they say the Source of the Nile belongs to Njeru, why is it that the Nile Bridge is located in Jinja?” Mr Kito asked.
On sharing revenue generated from the Source of the Nile, Mr Kito said Njeru Municipality cannot benefit from the Source of the Nile because they do not own it.
“Having become a municipality in 1956, Jinja is one of the oldest towns in Uganda. So, where were they to claim ownership of the Source of River Nile? Actually, as Jinja we collect between Shs70m and Shs80m per month as revenue from the Source of the Nile and we are not ready to share that money with Njeru Municipality,” he added.
Mr Kito said Jinja has a master plan to build a bridge that will help tourists easily access the site.
But Mr Kyazze claims that since Jinja became a municipality before Njeru, they took advantage and ‘grabbed’ the Source of the Nile from them.
“As mayor, I am going to fight hard to see that we also earn from the Source of the Nile because it belongs to us. We have to boost our municipality budget by getting revenue from that place,” he added.
Charge
To access the Source of the Nile, Jinja authorities charge Shs2,000 from students, adults pay Shs5,000, while tourists from East Africa Shs10,000 and other countries pay Shs30,000
