Bujagali falls in Jinja

Bujagali falls in Jinja -Itanda falls

Bujagali Falls in Jinja – also known as Budhagali in Lusoga language was a waterfall near Jinja town in Uganda where the mighty River Nile comes out of Lake Victoria, sometimes considered the source of the Nile River. Starting November 2011, the falls were submerged after the construction of a new Bujagali Dam.

An acute electricity crisis impacted the livelihoods of millions of Ugandans and threatened the country’s development. Hospitals, Schools, Businesses, and residences suffered daily power shortages, which have stunted Uganda’s economic growth by an estimated one percent of the country’s gross domestic product. The Bujagali Dam project is a 200MW hydropower facility on the Victoria Nile in Uganda that will help address the country’s energy crisis. The project supports Uganda’s broader development strategy, which focuses in large part on improving the investment climate to promote growth and reduce poverty.

Others say the costly dam’s power will not meet the needs of the vast majority of the country’s population, will drown a sacred waterfall, and could do further harm to Lake Victoria, the world’s largest tropical lake. Approximately 6,800 people will be directly affected by the creation of the dam.

The Falls are said by local residents to be the site of a spirit, called the “Spirit of Bujagali,” who protects the community by performing rituals at the falls. The spirit is embodied in a man, Jajja Budhagali, who lives next to the falls; he is the thirty-ninth person to be the spirit who died in the beginning of the year 2020.

Bujagali Falls were some of the great water falls on the River Nile course and were situated in Jinja district about 8 kilometers from the main town. They were among the best East Africa tourist destinations due to its unique and exclusive tourist activities such as the White water rafting, Bungee jumping, Quad biking, Horseback riding among others.