Lake Bunyonyi’s Island of Death
Smack in the middle of Lake Bunyonyi floats a scruffy little island with a few dead trees and a whole lot of baggage. You wouldn’t give it a second look, unless locals tell you that the forlorn patch of land is called Akampene, or Punishment Island …
Back in the day, if a girl was caught pregnant out of wedlock, her family didn’t just scold her. Oh no. She was dumped on that island. No food, no shelter. Just the birds for company and shame hanging heavy in the air. Virginity was prized — not for romance or religion, but because girls brought in bride price. No purity? No cows. Simple maths.
And get this: it was the boy’s dad who had to “check” if she was still a virgin. If she wasn’t, her family received a coin with a hole in it. Message received: damaged goods, and probably no wedding.
Girls left on Akampene had almost no chance. Back then very few people could swim, so escaping was nearly impossible. Some abandoned girls drowned, others starved. The “lucky” ones were picked up by poor lads looking for a wife on the cheap.
WHAT ABOUT PUNISHMENTS ELSEWHERE IN THE REGION?
In other parts the Gorilla Highlands, some ways of punishing girls were in fact worse. They could be taken to a forest, tied to a tree and left to the mercy of wild animals or thrown over a cliff at Kisiizi Falls or Nyabugoto Cave. Lake Mutanda also had its Punishment Island.
The poor lady was first beaten to reveal the name of the father. If he was of the same clan he had to escape or be killed and usually joined another clan while she was married off. If he was from another clan they would be forced to marry.
When she visited her parents’ home afterwards, she entered by a side entrance backwards bringing a sheep as a gift. When she was forgiven the bride price was paid. Among the Bafumbira the man was not punished unless her family decided to exact revenge.
Things only began to shift when Christianity arrived in 1912. Dr Leonard Sharp in particular was horrified and helped stamp it out. But not before girls like Maudah Kyitaragabiirwe, pregnant at 12, were cast out. She survived, aged about 90, and now returns to tell her story.
Today, Akampene is Lake Bunyonyi’s top tourism attraction. Shockingly, locals had to fight off a land grabber in 2018 to preserve this piece of history so that all the world can learn from it. You should too.
photos by Simon Dreven and Wu Jun Yi
