Lake Nkugute is a volcanic lake created over 12,000 years ago when the Bunyaruguru volcanic fields erupted. It is a lake with breathtaking views and full of folklore. It is a lake that is full of mystery and has been the subject of many tales that the locals share around their evening campfires.
The lake is located in the newly created District of Rubirizi. Its name literally means Swallow and has over the past years claimed many lives. It is a source of water for the locals in the region and it is not uncommon people especially children to lose their lives in this lake every year.
It is said that a boy and girl have to drown in the lake every year and it is hard to predict when its victims would meet their fate.
The lake which was once surrounded by thick forests is believed by the locals to be the deepest lake in the World however this is unsubstantiated. However the area surrounding the lake has been heavily degraded due to the demand for more land for cultivation as well as during the construction of the road to Mbarara District. The lake was intiately in the area of the Bachwezi people and its history like that of the Bachewzi is full of mystery. According to locals for example anyone who walks along the Nkugute lake around 10PM in the evening is often stopped by talk dark skinned (akin to the Bachewzi) who would then beat the person up and abondon them in the nearby forests.
To ensure the cleanliness of the lake the locals have been banned from washing clothes as well as cars in the lake. The “spiritual caretaker” of the lake; Omuzumira Komurusozi, would perform rituals such as killing of goats or sheep to appease the “gods” when the lake got violent. However due to CHRISTIANITY the practice has faded.
For more information on Uganda’s lakes eg. Lake Victoria.
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Mutabaazi whose father was a victim of these people’s wrath claims that they were Bachwezi. “The locals who encountered these Bachwezi narrated that they would be found grazing long horned cattle. They would accuse the locals whom they punished for stealing their cattle. However, they would only attack those who would be walking alone because it was not possible to see them or be attacked when walking in a group,” states Mutabaazi. The lake had a caretaker called Omuzumira Komurusozi, who was responsible for performing rituals to appease the gods of the lake. Whenever these rituals delayed, the lake would turn violent. Reports of people drowning under unclear circumstances would be popular; it is then that people would seek the intervention of the caretaker to perform the rituals. The rituals involved slaughtering a goat and a sheep whose heads were dumped in the lake. However, Mutabaazi says that following the prominence of religion in the area, people abandoned engaging in the rituals. Nkugute is a major source of water for domestic use in Rubirizi. A dam was constructed at the boundary of the lake, which looks like the horn of Africa, to supply water around the district. John Birungi, the LC 1 chairman of Ryemondo, the area where the lake is located says that washing clothes and cars from the lake was banned to ensure the water’s cleanliness. A sign post can be seen at the shore of the lake cautioning members of the public against unauthorised access to the lake. Fishing on the lake is not popular which is attributed to lack of fish in the lake.
