Jinja, Uganda – It can be exciting to visit a world-famous landmark. Tourists flock to them, they are economic generators and they get much media attention. They often start out as somewhat obscure markers but the fame drives them to become garish, overrun, corporate-sponsored sites. Such is the case with the White Nile River (also often called Victoria Nile) in East Africa. Add to that the amount of controversies tied to this river and the site of its source.
The source of the White Nile is in Jinja, about a 90-minute drive from Kampala. It is the world’s longest river: It travels 4,135 miles. (A small debate persists that the Amazon River, in South America, is the longest. But, the Nile seems to win any debate just based on how measurements are completed.)
Power hungry
Hundreds of millions of people depend on the Nile as its water source. More and more, it is relied upon for power. It suffered after a dam was built on it, effectively wiping out Ripon Falls. The falls, said to be a spectacular site, dropped dramatically out of Lake Victoria as the water headed its long journey to the Mediterranean Sea. They were blasted to pieces to build Owen Falls Dam to provide hydro-electric power.
The newest dam – Bujagali – is changing the character of the Nile. Rapids that once drew people to Bujagali Falls have been severely curtailed. As the $862-million, 250-megawatt dam was being built a couple of years ago, two sides went to war: Environmentalists decried the negative effects on biodiversity, tourism and lower water levels on Lake Victoria. Investors and builders wanted to make money. The lesser voice during the dam’s construction was Ugandan residents, the majority of whom do not have electricity. If it were in the U.S., Bujagali Dam would have the capacity to provide enough power to 190,000 homes. That’s a pittance in the U.S., but we have a dramatically higher power consumption rate than Uganda does.
Whitewater rafting
Before Bujagali, rapids raged at the site of the falls, drawing tourists and thrill-seekers from far and wide. Some semblance of rapids remain (whitewater rafting is still a big industry in Jinja), which helps tourist operators stay in business. Any rafting company you seek out promises a ride of a lifetime, guaranteeing that the raft will flip and you’ll swim in this famed river. But business owners say that anyone with an insatiable appetite who comes to the Nile to look for more power opportunities could destroy an industry that has helped keep Jinja going after a brutal dictator hurt this town in the 1970s.
Idi Amin’s legacy
Uganda’s brutal dictator has string of human rights abuses throughout the country. In Jinja, anyone who knows world history remembers that Amin frequently dumped bodies into the Nile River, where crocodiles ate them. So many bodies ended up there, in fact, that they ended up blocking the intake ducts at the Owen Falls dam here in Jinja.
John Speke’s “discovery”
At one point at the source of this river there was a historical marker attributing the discovery of the Nile to a white man, John Speke. The small marker stayed there for a couple of decades before sensitivity took hold and it was removed. Speke was an officer in the British Indian Army and an explorer, particularly in Africa. In the late 1850s he claimed to have discovered the source of the Nile. Africans contend that their ancestors knew where the river’s source was, and it was long before Speke ever started his explorations in Africa. In place of the marker is now a large yellow sign – with the site’s sponsor’s advertisement, Bell Beer – that mentions Speke’s visit. Instead of saying he discovered the source of the Nile, it says that Rippon Falls, which Speke “saw in 1862” and later named, were submerged when the Owen Falls Dam was built.
Trapping tourists
Instead of relying on the actually beauty that surrounds the Nile River at this site in Jinja, operators have turned it into a trap that you don’t want to participate in but you’re willing to turn a blind eye to see a world attraction. Huts with overpriced crafts and overzealous salespeople line the stairs to the river. I think someone may be stationed in the trees, because when tourists reach the bottom of the stairs, African music starts and pre-teen girls jump up from the dirt and begin dancing. A roughly constructed wooden sign explains that the girls are “African orphans” and you can take a picture of them dancing for 5,000 Ugandan shillings (about $2 U.S.) or videotape them for 10,000 shillings. It looks and feels exploitative. Given the rampant poverty, devastating affect HIV/AIDS, hunger and a host of other diseases have had on this population, it’s quite possible these girls really are orphans. But dancing for tourists in a place that has been besmirched by so many while also being abundantly beautiful doesn’t feel right.
Controversies aside, it’s worth visiting the source of the Nile River. Just go in with eyes wide open.
