Joseph Olanyo
Monday, 15 August 2011

The smell of smoked fish greets you from one of the small nucleated huts along Lutoboka landing site in Ssese Islands.

As night falls, the beaches are illuminated with lamps and candles. You would think it is a candle lit dinner. It is not. It is the catch of silver fish, locally known as mukene.
 
The tiny fish known for its irresistible smell, but with a potential market in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the potential cargoes transported by Motor Vessel (MV) Kalangala, the ship that plies the islands of Lake Victoria.

Before it attained a district status, Kalangala town in Bugala Island, was just a landing site where small motor boats and oar driven boats used to dock. The few passengers who commute within the neighbouring islands were the order of the day.

When MV Barbus, the Ugandan ship that operated between the mainland and Lake Victoria islands stopped operations in the early 1990's, transportation and trade in the area almost ground to a halt.

Not only was transport and trade affected, but also tourism, one of Uganda's biggest | More »