| Lake Muhazi | |
|---|---|
| NASA satellite image of Lake Muhazi | |
| Seeds of Peace centre and the lake | |
| 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]
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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]
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]
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.
Cited texts