A fool will not even find water in the Nile!

26 The Niles
Launching
the Oky
African
Boat Cruise
Party
Amid booming African music and ample local
food, passengers aboard the debut Nile cruise
of the Queen Juba 001 get a rare glimpse of the
nature surrounding the South Sudanese capital.
Akim Mugisa & Agama Martha | Juba
kayaking, fishing competitions and camping sites
among other leisure pursuits.
A forest of mango trees hug the east and west
banks of the river and local ethnic groups appear from
their Tukuls (mud and bamboo houses) and wave
to the passengers. Fishing and transport canoes make
way for the large cruise boat. An onboard disc jockey
plays loud African beats and the sounds of Emmanuel
Kembe’s Let us celebrate and Bob Marley’s One Love
echo across the water.
“We are heading to Malakal,” one passenger
jokes to a group of onlookers, referring to the capital
of Upper-Nile State, which lies more than 500
kilometres away.
South Sudanese artists including Yuppy Jay
of Jay family, Meen Meen of the Coozos Clan,
comedians and music promoters were among
the passengers of the first boat cruise party. Tickets
cost 300 South Sudanese Pounds (about US$ 95)
for the three-hour voyage.
Guests on the front deck challenge “driver”
Kitonyi to crash the boat into a lively, six-feet long,
yellow-and-green snake which is swimming just
metres ahead of the boat, but it struggles out of harms
way just in time.
A light-hearted argument ensues as to whether
the man at the wheel is called a driver, until one of the
passengers explains that Kitonyi is a captain, according
to nautical terminology.
“A couple of water
ski boats circle
in the distance.”
I
t is just after three on a sunny Saturday
afternoon in the South Sudanese capital
Juba. Men and women, many wearing bright orange
life jackets over their African attire, head for the
pier of the Queen Juba 001 for the first ever Oky
African Boat Cruise Party.
Passengers pile aboard the double-decker white
boat and twin 320-horse-power engines roar to
general excitement. High-fives clash in the air and
people embrace as the boat’s Assistant Captain
Aaron Kitonyi gently steers the Queen Juba 001
away from the platform.
The deck is abuzz with expectations of seeing
the indigenous people of the River Nile banks and
the famous Gondokoro Island, a historic site that
once served as an Egyptian garrison and the base
of British explorer Sir Samuel Baker during his
1870s expedition.
The Nile, which at some 6,853 kilometres is
the world’s longest river, snakes through South
Sudan on its way through Sudan and Egypt to
the Mediterranean Sea, offers spectacular views
of unspoiled nature.
“Bob Marley’s ‘One
Love’ echoes across
the Nile.”
In South Sudan, an area which is roughly the
size of France and Germany combined, the river
is used for transport, fishing and its water is taken
by many households and for agriculture. However,
until now, it has remained an untapped resource
for leisure activities. This contrasts with neighbouring
Uganda, where in areas like Jinja, Murchison
Falls National park and Panyimur, offer rafting,
Juba goes Miami: Fun on
Queen Juba, a double-decker
boat with twin
320-horse-power engines.
Photos: Akim Mugisa
Wine, spirits and bottles of beer are served alongside
local food, including home-made samosas and
chicken thighs. Guests dig their spoons into small
ceramic bowls of Githeri, a traditional Kenyan dish
made of boiled maize grains and beans.
A couple of water-ski boats circle in the distance,
prompting a group of passengers to shout “Al-Shabaab,
Al-Shabaab”, in reference to the notorious Somali
pirates on the Indian Ocean. Smart phones click and
flash as revellers snap selfies in various poses.
One of the business partners behind the party
cruise, Wani Michael, explains the trip was designed
to celebrate African diversity and unity. “We need
to rejuvenate our lost African cultures. Few from the
younger generation can sing African songs, they don’t
know our cultures in dressing and feeding because
the western culture is killing ours,” he says.
He said they created the river trip to enable
expatriates, corporate people and socialites to travel
along the mighty water body.
Data Gordon Emmanuel, a worker at the Zain
telecommunications network, praises the trip as a
welcome break from the bustle of Juba city: “I was
happy to see the natural green scenery along the Nile.”
Down in the cabin, five-year old Emily wears
a small safety vest and is accompanied by her father,
an executive member of the South Sudan Artists
Association. “It is good,” she says. “It feels good
to be in this boat on the water.”
At half past seven the sun starts to set on the river
and Queen Juba 001 docks at the pier and its relaxed
and upbeat passengers disembark. Winnie Godi,
from WinnyG fashions and co-organiser of the cruise,
reflects that the Nile trip revealed natural beauty to
young people, and could encourage peace by providing
work for the unemployed and disenchanted.
By introducing and promoting leisure activities,
beaches and water games along the world famous
water way, South Sudan could generate revenue for
government, create employment and also open up
markets for locally produced goods such as handcrafts,
she says.
“Youths can have fun and avoid engaging in war
here. They learn they have a life to enjoy and they can
earn a living from working as guides to visitors or
working on cruise boats… No water, no peace. This
river unites us all.”
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2015/11/23 2:13 PM