At Kal landing site in Panyimur Sub County in the West Nile district of Pakwach, a young woman wades through fast running water in what used to be a dry land.

On her head, she is carrying a yellow jerry can full of water that she has fetched from Lake Albert, this water will be used at home for cooking, bathing and drinking.

This is the fate of the majority of people who reside in the villages of Panyimur, Dei, Pakwach town council and parts of Wadelai.

The rising water from Lake Albert is slowly but steadily eating up their homes, and in some areas the water has climbed a kilometer into the mainland destroying hundreds of homesteads, three schools, markets and safe water drinking points such as boreholes.

In Panyimur Sub County alone, over 150 homesteads are affected but the district leadership says the rising water on Lake Albert and River Nile is affecting people who stay in a stretch of over 80 kilometers

“It’s a stretch of about 85 kilometers, and then about one kilometer inwards, they are all affected,” says the LC5 chairperson Steen Robert Omito.

He adds that three schools have been submerged.

“We have Ocayo Primary (school) that got submerged completely”.

The two other schools that have been submerged are Owere and Wangkado primary.

The  problem of the rising water levels on Lake Albert is affecting more than just education,

Michael Bithum a fisherman at Kal landing site stands hands akimbo as he points to a faraway distance in the lake where his house used to stand.

“My house was about 800 meters from here, the water came slowly from around 2019 and destroyed everything, and I had to shift up in the hills” he recounts.

The Pakwach district leadership led by the woman Member of Parliament Jane Pacuto are concerned that the office of the Prime Minister is not paying attention to a disaster that has taken five years and it is getting worse.

Pacuto says “I am passionately appealing to the government, these are your people, come and buy us land and we move away from this threatening flood.”

According to her, the water has risen 700 meters above the buffer zone, and the people have nowhere to go.

Robert Onenkwung a resident of Panyimur has been left perplexed as to where the water has come from, while Fred Mungu a resident of Pakwach town council blames nature for their suffering.

“I am surprised, you cannot compete with nature really, nature has its own ways” he says.

The rise in the water levels has been ongoing since 2019.

The  plight of the people here is calling for the intervention of the office of the prime minister.

But the director of mobilization in the ruling National Resistance Movement party Rose Mary Sseninde Nansubuga has visited the area, and with the 2026 general elections closing in she says the relevant government departments have to act fast

“Maybe give them land where they can shift (because) if they don’t do that they will be swallowed”, she adds that a report about the disaster will be forwarded to President Yoweri Museveni .

“And our chairman who is also the President of the Republic of Uganda, I am sure he has got some information, but we need to time and again remind government about some of these issues.”

The rise in the water levels on Lake Albert and river Nile is similar to the same phenomenon happening on Lake Victoria, Lake Kyoga as a result of climate change and destructive human activities such as deforestation, and encroachment on wetlands.

As for the case of Pakwach district, the same phenomena is believed to have happened between 1962, to 1963, but back then the water receded after a few months.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has been admitted to the Karen Hospital in Nairobi since Thursday, October 17, and is still recuperating. 

Doctors had initially informed the press that the DP would be admitted for 48 to 72 hours as they monitored his progress. 

The medical team continues to provide Gachagua with the much-needed medical attention as they monitor his progress.

They have also restricted access to only a given timeframe to provide the embattled DP with the required rest. 

A spot-check by Citizen TV revealed that the heavy security presence that was at Karen Hospital on Thursday has now been scaled down. This is due to the impeachment that the Senate upheld on Thursday. 

A court order, however, suspended the Senate impeachment, throwing a spanner in the works for Interior CS Kithure Kindiki to assume the DP’s office. 

Leaders such as Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka have called for the government to reinstate Gachagua’s security as he remains the country’s second in command. 

“The last line of defence in this country now is our Judiciary. When we were attending this funeral service here, we learnt that Justice Chacha Mwita has issued conservatory orders suspending the decision of the Senate to impeach Gachagua last evening,” Kalonzo said on Friday. 

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has reiterated Uganda’s commitment to supporting Somalia in its ongoing efforts to achieve lasting peace and stability. During bilateral talks on October 19, 2024, with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud at State Lodge, Nakasero, President Museveni assured that Uganda would continue to play an active role in Somalia’s peace process.

“We stand ready to support Somalia on its path toward full peace and security,” Museveni stated, commending the Somali government and the African Union for their efforts in combating insecurity, particularly against the Al-Shabaab militant group. Museveni and President Mohamud praised the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) and Somali security forces for their contributions to stabilizing the country.

A communiqué from the meeting, read by Foreign Affairs Minister Gen. Jeje Odongo, emphasized the significance of ATMIS’s successor, the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM). The two leaders discussed AUSSOM’s potential to build on the progress achieved and implement strategies that align with Somalia’s security needs. They urged the international community to provide the predictable and sustainable funding necessary to support this transition and to bolster the Somali Security Forces (SSFs).

Both presidents also hailed Somalia’s recent integration into the East African Community (EAC) and its election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2025-2026. President Museveni lauded Somalia’s regional engagement, marking it as a positive step for broader East African integration and cooperation. “We congratulate Somalia on these achievements, which signal greater regional unity and opportunities for collaboration,” Museveni said. 

Meanwhile, during the same meeting, President Museveni and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud witnessed the signing of Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), a key component of the Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation between Uganda and Somalia. The agreement outlines the legal status of military personnel deployed by Uganda to assist in stabilizing Somalia.

The signing ceremony also highlighted the readiness of both nations to deepen cooperation in other areas, with Ministers expressing their preparedness to sign additional agreements on education, sports, and immigration management. The two leaders also directed their officials to convene the second session of the Joint Permanent Commission and hold an Investment and Business Summit to enhance bilateral trade and investment opportunities.

Ugandan Minister of Foreign Affairs Gen. Jeje Odongo and Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi signed the SOFA on behalf of their respective governments, marking another milestone in the partnership between the two countries.