Fishermen of Bugaia Island and the surrounding areas of Lake Victoria in Buvuma district have called upon the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and their district leaders to put measures in place to curb crocodiles that have invaded the shores and attacked people too.

According to the fishermen, the crocodiles have invaded the shores and are living near people’s houses, which has forced most of them to abandon their homes due to fear of being mauled.

The fishermen added that recently, a crocodile attacked a man at the shore as he washed clothes and that by the time he was rescued by the fishermen, it had already mauled some of his body parts; he was, however, rushed to the hospital and is still nursing his wounds.

‘’The water level of Lake Victoria has increased, and this has forced these crocodiles to come to the shores and also people’s house verandahs, hence making life hard for the locals and fishermen to carry out their everyday activities,’’ the fishermen said.

In an interview with Theodore Serwanjja Mugobansonga, the LC V Chairperson of Bugaya sub-county, on June 11, 2024, he revealed that the locals are living in fear because the crocodiles have increased in number and are sleeping on their house verandahs, which has forced the locals to abandon their homes.

Mugobansonga further said that fishing activities and personal hygiene activities like washing and bathing are currently at a standstill since locals fear being eaten by the crocodiles once they go to the shores, hence making their livelihoods hard.

‘’We need our district leaders and UWA to shift these crocodiles because everyone on Bugaia Island and the surrounding areas is living in fear and has too much anxiety, which is not good,’’ Mugobansonga added.

He further called upon the government to help the fishermen at the Wakikere landing site because it is also infested and the crocodiles hide on the shores to attack the fishermen, despite water levels still being low.