Kalangala places ban on passenger boats at night
People board boats at the Kasenyi Landing Site in Entebbe, Wakiso District on May 5, 2022. PHOTO | ISAAC KASAMANI
Kalangala District leaders have banned passenger boats from sailing at night.
This follows a boat accident that occurred between Lukuba and Misenyi landing sites on Lake Victoria on May 4, where 17 passengers narrowly survived death after their boat was hit by strong waves .
Quoting Section 186 of the Lake Victoria Transport Act, 2007, Mr Anthony Amanya, the officer in charge of Marine Operations in Kalangala, said many passenger boats have continued to operate at night despite several warnings.
“The same law [Lake Victoria Transport Act, 2007] empowers the registrar of vessels to impound any vessel that he deems unfit to sail, until he is satisfied that it is fit to sail. And when the vessel is impounded, the owner is liable to pay the cost of detention and survey and any other incidental expenses ,” Mr Amanya said during an interview on Tuesday.
He said boats have also contributed to insecurity on the islands as they ferry in criminals.
“We have doubled our efforts through the marine defence units across the district to impound and arrest occupants of all passenger boats that move during night hours. Unlike large vessels with clear navigation systems. These locally-made wooden boats are not allowed to move at night,” Mr Amanya said.
He said they started a crackdown on unlicensed and unfit boats on Monday.
“It’s unfortunate that there are still many boats without valid licences that operate, including the one that was recently involved in an accident. Such vessels sail at night and in the past few days, we have arrested 20 coxswains and impounded 10 boats,” he added
Mr Rajab Ssemakula, the chairperson of Kalangala, said they are ready to support marine police to enforce safety measures on the lake.
“...They can as well work with structures like the Beach Management Units all over the landing sites to beef up their operations,” he said.
According to Section 184 ( 1& 2) of the Lake Victoria Transport Act 2007, any owner or master of a vessel shall not send a vessel onto the lake in a condition that endangers the life of any person, property and the environment and if he/she does so, commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding $5,000 (about Shs17.9m) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both.
All vessels connecting to Kalangala are monitored by four marine units, including the marine base at Kasenyi, Entebbe airport, Nkose, and Lutoboka on Buggala Island, which are also the contact units in case of emergencies.
