Located on Lake Victoria in Africa, Migingo Island was previously the subject of a low-level territorial dispute between Kenya and Uganda. The conflict over Migingo Island has been referred to as the world’s “smallest war” due to the island’s tiny size and the dispute’s lack of intensity.
The small plot of land – about half an acre – is prized as a base because it is situated within a rich fishing ground. The lucrative Nile Perch trade – which has seen prices paid of more than $300 a kilogram on the global market – has turned the island into a hotbed of activity. This has led to concerns about overfishing on the world’s largest tropical lake.
It is now home to a fluctuating population of around 500 people and features a maze of corrugated structures scattered across it. The makeshift buildings have created a series of small alleyways and thoroughfares on a patch of land that can be successfully navigated on foot in less than ten minutes.
The island, which is surrounded by boats, is also home to a hair salon, bars and several brothels, reports The Mirror. Migingo is so small that it is not disclosed on many maps. It has previously been reported that the island was underwater until the 1990s but this has been disputed. Many fishermen on Migingo prefer to fish at night because activity on the lake at this time is far less crowded than during the daytime.
The island is around 2,000 square metres in size and has a population density of around 250,000 people per square kilometre. By comparison, Hong Kong has a population density of around 7,400 people,though some areas of Hong Kong have a far higher population density. The majority of people living on Migingo are Kenyan but it also contains a sizable Ugandan population of around 20%.
Migingo is actually one of three small islands situated near each other. The much larger Usingo Island is 200 metres to the east and the largest of the three, Pyramid Island, is two kilometres south of Migingo and 11 kilometres north of the Tanzanian border in Lake Victoria.
Life on the cramped space is believed to be difficult with limited sanitation facilities available on the rocky outcrop. The lack of running water and harsh living conditions on the tiny island has drawn comparisons with Kibera, a Kenyan slum regarded as one of the largest in Africa.
It has also been reported that pirates are a constant thorn in the side of the island’s inhabitants- they steal fish, cash and boat engines from the fishermen.
The island does not have a permanent, conventional police presence and instead relies on a community-based justice system. It has been said that some residents have resorted to paying “protection taxes” to maritime police to halt or discourage the pirate activity affecting Migingo.
Many of the fishermen on the island don’t own the boats they operate and instead pay a hefty fee to the owners who are mainly located on the mainland. Reports state the fees can be up to 80% of the catch the fishermen haul in from the lake making it a tough existence for the workers.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
