(Part Seven of Nine)
River Nile: Over 100m lives depend on it for their survival
John Speke, the explorer from the Royal Geographical Society wrote: “the roar of the waters, the thousands of passenger fish, leaping at the falls with all their might, the Wasoga and Waganda fishermen coming out in boats and taking post on the all the rocks with rod and hook, the hippopotami and cattle driven down to drink at the margin of the lake, made in all, with the pretty nature of the country, small hills, rocky grassy topped with trees in folds and gardens on the lower slopes – as interesting a picture as one would wish to see”.
The small hills and rocky grassy-topped greens have been preserved, but the hippopotami and cattle are no more. The number of fishermen and fishing canoes has dwindled, but the mighty roaring River Nile still soldiers on. The river that starts its 6,650km to the Mediterranean see in North Africa very gently with swirls and a little foams but at is gains momentum, the river also gather not only vigor but also at times anger. With its gentleness and calmness, River Nile continues its majestic journey in a very generous manner offering not only fish but also water for survival to the communities near and far its banks. Obviously over years a number of things have changed along River Nile, the Ripon Falls and the Bujjagali Falls are no more as a result of the construction of a hydro dam, but the nature and character of the river has remained. It is this Nile that continues to shape the lives of millions of people along its way. Indeed River Nile has its own story to tell and you can never know this story until you visit, travel on it and spend some time on the Nile.
In the Best of Busoga book, we have endeavored to bring out this story of the Nile and showed how the interest and struggle to locate the source of this mighty river started not with the Europeans but with the Egyptians Pharos. We have also showed how the City of Jinja acquired its name. It is an interesting read, so get yourself a copy today.
Uganda, a republic straddling the equator, has in more ancient times been ruled by both Kings and Paramount Chiefs, institutions restored by the government of President Yoweri Museveni in 1993/94 as cultural institutions after all traditional ruling structures were abolished by Milton Obote, twice dictator and twice overthrown by military coups.
The Busoga Kingdom is located in the East of Uganda, across the River Nile, which commences its long journey to the Mediterranean Sea in Jinja, known as both the Source of the Nile and the Adventure Capital of East Africa.
The Busoga Tourism Initiative has now released an initial nine short chapters on the history, culture and of course tourism attractions found in the kingdom and
with their explicit permission will all nine chapters be reproduced here in coming days.
The timing is befitting as between the 17th and 19th of February will the Uganda Tourism Board host the annual Pearl of Africa Travel Expo in Kampala and the attractions of the upper Nile valley and further into the Kingdom will be showcased there to nearly 100 hosted buyers and international travel media representatives and travel trade professionals from the entire East African region.
