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Sunday December 22, 2024
Down the lake, at Kiga a village in Bugiri in Wakiso district in Uganda is one boat sailing on the calm lake. The once busy stop centre for fish is now very quiet and lonely. Here I find Kisakye washing her clothes. She has items in a polythene bag that she seems to be selling to random passers-by.
Kisakye starts narrating how her life changed and she now sells different types of drugs to earn a living. She sells drugs like heroin, skunk and tobacco.
“My life changed when my husband was arrested by the military police for illegal fishing. I was born here, fishing has always been the economic activity in this area. I don’t know what we are going to do if the government has stopped us from fishing.
She has three biological children and also looks after three other children which belong to her neighbour who escaped from the military.
“My husband had three boats that had cost him three million Ugandan shillings (about $1000), but they were all cracked down.” Kisakye recalls, “That fateful night I had come to fish with my husband when we met the military officers on the operation.”
They told the couple to put their boats on the rock, canned them with sticks and gave them two axes. She tells us they told them to crack them to pieces whilst she tried to explain about their fishing licences but they did not listen.
“We cracked our own boats to pieces as they watched and later the wood was set ablaze with petrol. That is the last day I saw my husband,” Kisakye shares.
Kisakye has now resorted to selling drugs and alcohol: “Alcohol is on-demand, people need to forget their problems,” she says.
She sells the alcohol from her small house where she puts benches outside for her customers to sit.
“When the men get drunk they become aggressive. Sometimes they fight me as I demand my payment. My children are exposed to violence and abusive language.” They have no option but to grow in this indecent environment.
The deputy chairman of the area Friday Bugembe says alcoholism and drug abuse are increasing in the area as the main economic activity, fishing was brought to a stop by the Government through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries. The impromptu operations have set the people in Kiga Bugiri panicking.
The government of Uganda has set up rules and regulations that have to be observed as far as fishing and any sort of aquaculture are concerned.
The operation is being carried out by military officers who are scaring residents off through their ruthless ways of arresting and detaining people. A number of former residents are vacating the area because of fear of the military officers. This is totally killing the peace and security that once existed in Bugiri.
Woman counsellor Leticia Nabirye says “The men have been disempowered after the main economic activity fishing was stopped. They have resorted to drug abuse something that is causing high crime rates, high suicide rates and thus high death rates. Even the rape cases have become rampant.” There is no peace in Bugiri! She exclaims. She calls upon the government of Uganda to engage the fishermen in sensitisation and educational talks as they impose new rules and regulations.
The deputy chairman goes on further to say that they, together with the police will arrest anyone in possession of drugs and those that are taking excessive alcohol.
Due to the use of drugs and alcohol, there are a number of drowning cases that have also led to death. The defence and security personnel Salongo Mukasa says, “ the men are drinking excessive alcohol, but because they still need sauce for their families to eat, they go and make semi-permanent boats locally known here as ‘pala’. These boats are death tools! He continues.
They then go and fish using these tiny unsafe boats. They cannot even afford life jackets as they are so expensive. When one falls into the water from this pala, it’s very hard to survive. The fishermen need a lot of education and sensitisation. They are desperate. The waters at this point in Kiga are very deep too,” he says.
A number of organisations have come up to calm down the situation of unemployment in Bugiri.
Brac Uganda, an international microfinance group is supporting sustainable projects inclusive of skill development where they are empowering women with skills. This is a sustainable solution measure to build peace and security in the area. Women in Bugiri are equipped with knowledge in bakery, tailoring, hairdressing and crafting.
Out of these activities, they get income from which they can pay school fees and also feed for their basic needs inclusive of water, shelter, clothing and food.
The Rotary Club of Bwerenga through their member Andrew Mutumba, a proprietor of Mums – a cosmetics company also plans to reach out to the community by teaching women how to make soap and saving skills under entrepreneurship. The club has gone on further to work with the Government of Uganda to complete the deserted primary schools so that the children go to school. “This has apparently improved on the crime rate, remember an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. The children are kept in school and thus the low crime rates by the boys who had started resorting to stealing and drug use. The girls are also in school now. Bugiri was facing a problem of teenage mothers as children would resort to early sex and parenthood as their parents wouldn’t afford to look after them. The only government school in place is really helping the girl child and keeping her safe from STDs and early marriage.
The government project Mahathi-infra a project that is in charge of the construction of the oil storage is also giving back to the community by providing labour to the former fishermen who have now got welding jobs and are also employed in other sectors of the project. Captain Myke Mukula at the meeting between Mahathi-infra and the residents, who are the majority former fishermen, promised more job opportunities like track driving, welding, supply of goods and many others. When Mahathi-infra is fully operational.
Mariestopes Uganda has also come out to ensure that there is reproductive health in the area. Mariestopes has introduced family reproductive lessons, empowering women with knowledge on reproduction inclusive of family planning methods.
Rosebud a flower farm by the Ruparelia group of companies is also encouraging female employment. The company gives more women a chance to be employed there to encourage women’s empowerment and promote peace in the area. The company also constructed a daycare service centre for their female employees so that their young ones are safe as the mothers are at work.
The church leader popularly known as Mubulizi, Reverend Nakitende Jessica says the crime and violence that is due to unemployment is a threat to peace and security in Bugiri. “As a church, St Barnabas, Bugiri we are encouraging behavioural change, we are calling upon the men to give up on drugs and alcohol and look after their families as the Bible says that man will toil the earth. We encourage them to provide for their wives and children. We call for forgiveness. We pray and also call upon the government to release and forgive those that were arrested due to breaking the fishing rules so that they are reunited with their families.”
She goes on further to say that it’s okay to restart. If fishing has been stopped in a way that the rules and regulations are tight and licences expensive, then they should opt for other income-generating activities.
UNESCO calls for peace and dignity of all human beings inclusive of men women and children.
The government needs to put into consideration the rights of the women that are suffering as a result of the new fishing laws that are being enforced. They should be taught and sensitised about upcoming laws and punishments if peace and security are to be maintained.
The Food Agricultural Organisation together with the government of Uganda has engaged in lessening the pressure around Lake Victoria by gradually introducing new fishing methods to the fishermen. The organisation is effortlessly working towards building peace and security back in all areas surrounding the lake to regenerate the once-forgotten economic activity, fishing.
This story is part of the African Women in Media (AWiM) Peace and Security Journalism Programme in partnership with UNESCO, through the IPDC framework.
