New regulations target water transport safety: Passengers face Shs4m fine or jail over life jackets

Passengers travelling on boats without life jackets and operators of unregistered vessels could soon face a fine of up to Shs4 million or a prison term of up to four years, under proposed safety regulations currently being developed by the Ministry of Works and Transport.

The regulations, expected to come into force by January 2027, seek to strengthen safety standards across Uganda’s water bodies by tightening requirements for boat registration, licensing, construction, mandatory safety inspections, passenger caps, landing site management, and operator training.

Speaking yesterday during the launch of Balance the Boat, a documentary highlighting maritime safety, Mr Barnabas Twinomujuni, the acting principal marine licensing officer in the Ministry of Works and Transport’s Maritime Department, explained that the proposed measures will operationalise the Inland Water Transport Act, 2021.

“Once these regulations are in place, non-compliance becomes a crime. If we find you operating a boat that is not registered, we are looking at 200 currency points. That translates to around Shs4 million,” Mr Twinomujuni said.

He underscored that safety is an obligation for everyone on board, noting: “Someone without a life jacket is also committing an offence because they put themselves and others in danger. Even putting your own life at risk is a serious matter. We are also looking at 200 currency points for that, but the ministry is considering 100 currency points.”
One currency point is equivalent to Shs20,000, meaning 100 currency points translate to a Shs2 million fine, which is being considered as a lower penalty threshold for passengers failing to wear life jackets.

Mr Twinomujuni noted that the draft regulations are at an advanced stage, with stakeholder consultations currently underway before submission to the Solicitor General for legal clearance.
“We came up with the Inland Water Transport Act, 2021, and currently, we are developing regulations to operationalise the law and strengthen it so that we can enforce it and prevent such tragedies from happening again,” he said. He added: “We have to consult stakeholders to ensure the regulations are enforceable and do not come as a surprise. After the consultations, we shall follow the due process of government to obtain clearance from the Solicitor General and complete the other requirements before they are enacted. Three months is possible, but the timeline will depend on the clearance we receive.”

The Inland Water Transport Act, 2021, was introduced to address critical gaps in Uganda's maritime legislation following a series of tragic water transport accidents, most notably the November 2018 capsizing of MV Templar on Lake Victoria, which claimed dozens of lives.

“This incident involving the boat took place in 2018. In 2021, we enacted a new law called the Inland Water Transport Act, 2021. The law came after some of these incidents woke us up. We saw the gap and said we needed to close it. That is why the law was introduced. We used to have fragmented laws, which were not very effective,” Mr Twinomujuni recalled.

Supporting the government's efforts, Mr Justinian Kateera, the country coordinator of the Uganda Drowning Prevention Programme and a consultant with Global Health Advocacy Incubator and Bloomberg Philanthropies, clarified that the upcoming enforcement measures stem from existing legislation.

“Listening to the documentary Balance the Boat, we felt that it was such a compelling narrative and it would make sense for us now to announce that by January 2027, the regulations governing life jacket use, boat standards and the number of passengers on boats will be duly regulated,” Mr Kateera stated.

He stressed that simple safety measures could have drastically mitigated past tragedies, noting: “Obviously, if all those passengers on MV Templar had life jackets, that would have saved lives. If there was no overloading of the vessel, it would not have capsized; it would have been well balanced. And if that boat was licensed, it would not have been permitted on the waters on that day.”
Drowning Deaths Severely Underreported
Findings presented during the launch event at Kampala Serena Hotel revealed a massive disparity between actual drowning incidents and official police records.

Community-level data collection conducted across five districts recorded 3,367 drowning incidents—including more than 1,000 fatalities—over a three-year period. In contrast, police statistics recorded only 187 cases within the same period.
Dr Frederick Oporia, the director of the Centre for Prevention of Trauma, Injury and Disability and a researcher at the Makerere University School of Public Health, pointed out that official records obscure the true extent of the hazard.

“When we compare what the police capture over the three-year period, we found 187. So you see, look at the difference between 187 in three years and 3,367 in the same period,” Dr Oporia said. He further highlighted that non-fatal incidents go largely unrecorded: “For the survivors, it has been 97 more—almost close to 100—that the police is not aware of.”

The research revealed that only 37 per cent of individuals involved in the recorded drowning incidents knew how to swim, while a mere 3 per cent were wearing life jackets when the accidents occurred. The majority of victims were young males aged between 18 and 45, primarily engaged in fishing, transport, or rescue attempts during sudden severe weather.

Mr Humphrey Nabimanya, Chief Executive Officer of Reach A Hand Africa—the organisation behind the documentary—emphasised the need for continuous vigilance while on the water.
“The documentary was a reminder of the importance of safety, even when you are already on the boat. Everyone must play their part by ensuring that passengers take the necessary precautions to protect their lives,” Mr Nabimanya said.

Survivors call for strict enforcement
Survivors of past water transport disasters present at the launch urged authorities to step up vessel inspections, deploy more rescue boats, and rigorously enforce safety regulations.
Ms Samalie Nakazzi, a survivor of a boat accident, shared the trauma of dealing with the aftermath and public insensitivity.
“Losing friends and facing judgement from people who were not aboard the boat has been among the most difficult parts of the tragedy,” Ms Nakazzi said, calling on boat owners to maintain their vessels and mandate life jacket usage for every passenger.

Another survivor, Ms Justine Tashobya, noted that surviving the tragedy permanently altered how she approaches water transport.
“We will not get onto a boat unless everyone has a life jacket. We still use the water for professional reasons, but we are much more cautious. Even if I take off my life jacket briefly, I make sure to put it back on as soon as possible. We continue to use the water, but with much greater attention to safety,” Ms Tashobya declared.