A fisherman has died in Lake Victoria after the boat he was using during his fishing expedition capsized.
The man identified as James Okello died as he tried to swim to the shores of the freshwater lake.
He was with two other colleagues who survived the incident.
Budubusi sublocation assistant chief Maurice Nyongesa confirmed the incident.
“We have lost him. We are still looking for the body and divers are doing everything they can to retrieve the body,” Nyongesa said on the phone.
The incident happened in the Bunyala North ward in Budalang’i constituency.
The Wednesday 4 pm incident, one survivor, said happened when a heavy storm found him and his two colleagues fishing deep in the lake.
A heavy wind that was blowing across the water body during the storm overturned the boat, leaving them with only one option – to swim to the lake shore.
The deceased is a resident of Namasali village, Bujwanga sublocation in the neighbouring Samia subcounty.
The boat capsized as the three fishermen were moving from Marenga to Budubusi, Nyongesa said.
The assistant chief said fishermen and officers from the Kenya Coast Guard based in Port Victoria have commenced a search operation in a bid to retrieve Okello’s body.
The administrator cautioned fishermen against fishing deep in the lake as heavy rains associated with the El Nino continue pounding some parts of the country.
“Right now, when the weather is not conducive for fishing, we urge fishermen to avoid going into the water,” Nyongesa said.
“If they must go, then they must use bigger boats which cannot easily be overturned by winds or water waves and they must also use live jackets, just in case an incident happens.”
Okello was a father of one. Incidents of boats capsizing in Lake Victoria are not new.
On January 1, three University of Nairobi students died after a boat they were cruising on in the lake capsized.
The incident happened at Mulokoba Waterfront in Budalang’i.
The three who were First, Third and Sixth Year students were part of seven students from the institution of higher learning who had gone to the lake to have fun on the first day of 2023.