Lake Muhazi

Muhazi redirects here. For the former district in Kibungo Province, see Muhazi (district).

Lake Muhazi
NASA satellite image of Lake Muhazi
Seeds of Peace centre and the lake
Coordinates	1°51′S 30°24′E / 1.85°S 30.4°E / -1.85; 30.4Coordinates: 1°51′S 30°24′E / 1.85°S 30.4°E / -1.85; 30.4
Primary outflows	Nyabugogo River[1]
Catchment area	829 km2 (320 sq mi)[1]
Basin countries	Rwanda
Max. length	37 km (23 mi)[1]
Max. width	0.6 km (0.37 mi)[1]
Surface area	33 km2 (10 sq mi)[1]
Average depth	10 m (33 ft)[1]
Max. depth	14 m (46 ft)[1]
Water volume	0.33 km3 (0 cu mi)[1]
Surface elevation	1,443 m (4,734 ft)[1]
Settlements	Gahini, Rwesero

Lake Muhazi (Kinyarwanda: Ikiyaga cya Muhazi) is a long thin shallow lake in the east of Rwanda. The bulk of the lake lies in the Eastern Province, with the western end forming the border between the Northern and Kigali Provinces.^[2] It is a flooded valley lake, lying predominantly in an east to west direction, but with numerous offshoots in a north to south direction, formerly the location of tributaries.^[3] The lake has a concrete dam at the western end, constructed in 1999 to replace an earth dam which had existed since time immemorial.^[1] The lake empties into the Nyabugogo River, which flows southwards to Kigali where it meets the Nyabarongo River, part of the upper Nile.^[4]

History

According to oral history the Kingdom of Rwanda was founded in the 14th or 15th centuries on the shores of Lake Muhazi in the Buganza and Bwanacyambwe regions.^[5][6][7] At that time it was a small state in a loose confederation with larger and more powerful neighbours, Bugesera and Gisaka.^[8] By playing these neighbours against each other, the early kingdom flourished in the area, expanding westwards towards Lake Kivu.^[9] In this expanded kingdom, the Buganza region became a powerful religious site, being synonymous with the earliest and most revered mwamis of the kingdom.^[10] In the late 16th or early 17th centuries, the kingdom of Rwanda was invaded by the Banyoro and the kings forced to flee westward, leaving the Lake Muhazi area in the hands of Bugesera and Gisaka.^[6][8]

The formation in the 17th century of a new Rwandan dynasty by mwami Ruganzu Ndori, followed by eastward invasions, the retaking of Buganza and the conquest of Bugesera, marked the beginning of the Rwandan kingdom's dominance in the area.^[11] Lake Muhazi became a border zone between Rwanda and the still independent Gisaka, a situation which remained in place for 200 years, despite several unsuccessful attempts by the Rwandan kings to subdue Gisaka.^[12] Eventually, in around 1830, Gisaka was annexed and the eastern borders of the state began to take their present form, with the lake fully under Rwandan control.^[6][13]

Under German and Belgian colonial rule the lake became an important east–west transport route, linking Kigali and the west of the country with the north-south and eastbound roads from Gahini.^[14] From 1922, the eastern area was temporarily under British control as part of the surveying process for the proposed Cape-Cairo railway, a period during which the Church Missionary Society (CMS), started missionary and medical work across eastern Rwanda.^[15] This land was returned to Belgium in 1924 but the rulers allowed the CMS to continue its work, and a permanent mission and hospital was set up close to Lake Muhazi in Gahini village.^[14]

In common with the rest of the country, Lake Muhazi was the scene of many horrific killings during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Large numbers of bodies were put in the lake by Interahamwe militias, while others drowned attempting to escape; witnesses described the water at the time as "mixed with blood."^[16]

Flora and fauna

The lake is noted for its large population of Spotted-necked Otters (Hydrictis maculicollis) with an estimated 200 to 400 individuals in 1990, a density of around 20 individuals per 10 km of shoreline.^[17]

There are a number of bird species around the lake. These include African Fish Eagles (Haliaeetus vocifer), Malachite Kingfishers (Alcedo cristata),^[3] Pied Kingfishers (Ceryle rudis), Swamp Flycatchers (Muscicapa aquatica), Village Weavers (Ploceus cucullatus), Speckled Mousebirds (Colius striatus), Black-lored (Turdoides melanops) and Arrow-marked (T. jardineii) Babblers, African Paradise-flycatchers (Terpsiphone viridis), Scarlet-chested (Nectarinia senegalensis), Bronze (N. kilimensis) and Green-headed (N. verticalis) Sunbirds, Yellow-fronted Canaries (Serinus mozambicus), Green-winged Pytilias (Pytilia melba), Great (Phalacrocorax carbo) and White-breasted (P. lucidus) Cormorants, Openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) and Yellow-billed (Mycteria ibis) Storks and Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis).^[18] There is also a pair of semi-domesticated Grey Crowned Cranes (Balearica regulorum) at the Jambo Beach resort in Gahini.^[18]

Various fish species have been introduced to the lake over the years, including marbled lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus) in 1989,^[19] and tilapia at various times including 2003 and 2009, in an attempt to reduce reliance on imports.^[20][21]

The phytoplankton of the lake is predominantly Microcystis aeruginosa and Ceratium hirundinella.^[22]

Economy and tourism

The Muhazi lake shore at Gahini is popular with tourists and features two resorts: the Seeds of Peace centre, which offers accommodation, and Jambo Beach.^[3] These are used both as stop off points for journeys to or from Akagera National Park, and as venues for lake tourism, offering boating, fishing and bird watching.^[23] There are also several resorts at Rwesero, on the north-eastern shore of the lake, including Rwesero Beach, offering camping accommodation and also popular with day-trippers from Kigali.^[3]

A new resort, the Lake Muhazi Golf & Country Resort and Boulevard, is planned for the southern shore of the lake, on the Gati Peninsular.^[24] The project was launched in 2006 at the Kigali Serena Hotel (formerly the Intercontinental Hotel), and was anticipated to be constructed in three phases. If completed as announced, the resort will occupy a site 250 acres (1.0 km²) acres in area and will feature 52 housing units, a golf course and a country resort.^[25] The contract for the first phase was awarded in June 2007, with a value of over US$26.6 million and estimated construction time of 18 months.^[26] As of 2010, however, there is no evidence that work has begun and the project appears to be on hold or cancelled.

Notes and references

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Usanzineza et al. p2
2. ^ UN Field Support
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Briggs & Booth p218
4. ^ Njoroge
5. ^ Dorsey p37
6. ^ ^{a b c} Munyakazi and Ntagaramba p18
7. ^ Prunier p18
8. ^ ^{a b} Chrétien p158
9. ^ Dorsey p38
10. ^ Chrétien p122
11. ^ Dorsey p39
12. ^ Dorsey p40
13. ^ Dorsey p41
14. ^ ^{a b} Makower p56
15. ^ Makower p55
16. ^ Mwesigye
17. ^ Lejeune & Frank
18. ^ ^{a b} Claassen
19. ^ REMA
20. ^ MINECOFIN p43
21. ^ Majyambere
22. ^ Mukankomeje et al.
23. ^ Dusabe
24. ^ Karibu Rwanda Directory
25. ^ Muliisa & Mutesi
26. ^ Karibwije

Cited texts

• Briggs, Philip & Booth, Janice (2006) Rwanda - The Bradt Travel Guide. 3rd ed. London: Bradt Travel Guides. ISBN 1841621803
• Chrétien, Jean-Pierre (2003) The Great Lakes of Africa: Two Thousand Years of History Hardcover ed. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN 189095134X
• Claassen, Marcell (September 2009) Eastern Rwanda birding report Rwanda Travel News Bradt Guides (Philip Briggs). Accessed 5 March 2010.
• Dorsey, Learthen (1994) Historical Dictionary of Rwanda. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810828200
• Dusabe, Caroline (7 March 2009). "The Thrills At Lake Muhazi, Jambo Beach". East African Business Week (Kampala). Accessed 23 February 2010.
• Karibu Rwanda Directory Lake Muhazi Golf & Country Resort and Boulevard. Accessed 3 March 2010.
• Karibwije, Daniel (4 June 2007). "Rwanda's Housing Gets Boost". East African Business Week (Kampala). Accessed 3 March 2010.
• Lejeune, A. & Frank, V. (1990) Distribution of Lutra maculicollis in Rwanda: Ecological constraints IUCN Otter Spec. Group Bull. 5: 8- 16
• Majyambere, Gertrude (9 June 2009). "Country to Cut on Overseas Dependency on Fish Consumption". The New Times (Kigali). Accessed 23 February 2010.
• Makower, Katharine (1999) The Coming of the Rain p56. Paternoster Press. ISBN 0-85364-968-5
• Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN), Republic of Rwanda (April 2004) Rwanda: poverty reduction strategy paper : annual progress report. Accessed 23 February 2010.
• Mukankomeje, R.; Plisnier, P-D.; Descy, J-P; & Massaut, L. (1992) Lake Muzahi, Rwanda: limnological features and phytoplankton production Hydrobiologia (Springer Netherlands) 257 (2): 107 - 120
• Muliisa, Richard & Mutesi, Florence (19 November 2006). "U.S.$70m Resort Project At Muhazi". The New Times (Kigali). Accessed 3 March 2010.
• Munyakazi, Augustine & Ntagaramba, Johnson Funga (2005). Atlas of Rwanda French ed. Oxford: Macmillan Education. ISBN 0333954513
• Mwesigye, Edward (22 January 2008). "Contaminated as it was, lake Muhazi save me – survivor". The New Times (Kigali). Accessed 4 March 2010.
• National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR). Kigali City ; Northern Province ; Eastern Province. Accessed 8 March 2010.
• Njoroge, Timothy (29 March 2008). "Exploring the Nyabarongo river". The New Times (Kigali). Article also linked here. Accessed 16 February 2010.
• Prunier, Gérard (1995) The Rwanda crisis, 1959-1994: history of a genocide Hardcover ed. London: C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. ISBN 1850652430
• Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) Chap V. Biodiversity and genetic resources Rwanda State of Environment Report. Accessed 23 February 2010.
• United Nations Department of Field Support, Cartographic Section (June 2008) Rwanda Map No. 3717 Rev. 10
• Usanzineza, D.; Nhapi, I.; Gashagaza, J.B.; & Kashaigili, J.J. Heavy metal pollution and nutrient levels in Lake Muhazi, Rwanda. National University of Rwanda / UNESCO-IHE.