Lake Victoria Tragedy: Hard Lessons

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The country is still in shock.

The un-precedent loss of young lives on one of the most beautiful water bodies is one thing that will be hard to take in for many, more especially the families of the deceased. Tragedy has once again struck us where it hurts most as a nation.

The numbers are still unclear and so are the circumstances under which this calamity occurred. Numerous eye witness accounts from survivors have pointed to a number of factors and bar any official communication, we as a nation need to take hard lessons from this disaster.

I need to also give thanks to early responders and men in uniform who heeded the call to come to the rescue of stranded passengers. Many where saved, many couldn’t and many bodies were recovered from the wreckage.

Questions

Could organizers of the event have been more careful as regards the state of the boat in which such a function involving many people? Did they not take any attention to the restrictions of the boat as regards numbers and capacity?

To the revelers, could they have been more vigilant, and asked more questions as regards to their personal safety? Where life jackets enough for each of the passengers?

To the authorities in charge of water transportation, have they any means to regulate vessels that transport people on these shores? Do we have licensing of water vessels as we do for land based transport means?

How as a country have we equipped emergency services with the facilities and equipment necessary to intervene in case of such disasters?  On this note I again thank all those that were involved in the rescue operations and saved countless lives. We are grateful.

Lastly to our broadcasters. The broadcast standards stipulate that certain content not be displayed to the audience. The broadcast of live pictures of lifeless bodies floating on the shores of the lake at mutiima beach where below standards. Uganda communications commission needs to educate and caution broadcasters against such reckless flexing of their broadcasting muscles. This was mainly NBS TV, a well-respected channel that helped break the news and give insights into the tragedy.

To move on we need to study the past and ensure that we pick vital points that may help avert a similar crisis in the future.

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