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By Godfrey Olukya 17-12-2012
The fishing community on lake Victoria in Kenya are mourning the death of six of their fellow fishermen who died when their boat sank in lake Victoria on Saturday night.
The deceased six were reportedly in a group of seven fishermen. One of them, identified as Mugeni Baraka managed to survive after swimming to the lake shore over 2 kms from where the boat sunk.
All the fishermen were from Bwiri village in Samia district, Busia County in western Kenya. Lake Victoria is the second biggest fresh water lake in the world.
The lake is located between three countries, namely Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Many unemployed youths in the three countries, especially those who drop out of school resort to fishing on the lake.
Baraka said, ‘We had gone fishing when the boat started leaking. We tried to pour out the water using our hand but we were overwhelmed by the much more water coming in. Later the boat sunk.’
He said that among the seven, he was the only one who could swim. He said he was saddened on seeing his colleagues drawn.
According to one of the relatives of the deceased, Michael Osinde, all the seven who died were youths aged 16 to 22 years.
The bodies of the deceased have been retrieved from the lake by fellow fishermen with the help of police. They were transported to the mortuary from where relatives will pick them for burial.
Leaders in Bwiri village blamed the government for not putting in place measures to protect youths, especially those who can not swim from getting involved in fishing activities.