Ukerewe Island

Ukerewe is the fifth-largest lake island in the world. With an area of 530 km² (200 sq mi), it is also the largest island in Lake Victoria and the largest lake island in Africa.^[2]

Ukerewe

Ukerewe detached from coast in the southeastern region of Lake Victoria
Ukerewe
Geography
Location	Lake Victoria
Coordinates	02°01′57″S 33°00′27″E
Area	530 km2 (200 sq mi)
Administration
Tanzania
Mwanza Region
Ukerewe District
Largest settlement	Nansio
Demographics
Population	345,147[1]
Pop. density	283.02/km2 (733.02/sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Kerewe

Ukerewe Island is located in the Ukerewe District of Mwanza Region in the great lakes area of Tanzania, 45 km (28 mi) north of the city of Mwanza to which it is linked by ferry.^[3] A ferry crossing of 3.8 km (2.4 mi) links the island to a dirt road on the eastern lake shore, which runs to Kibara and the city of Musoma in Mara Region. The shoreline of Ukerewe Island is carved into numerous bays and it is surrounded by at least a dozen smaller islands. Its largest community is the town of Nansio.

Ukerewe island is known for having a large population of Africans with albinism. Many of the first of them to live there were taken to and abandoned on the island by their families as children. Despite comprising an exceptionally high percentage of the island's population, they are still, as throughout Tanzania, an oppressed minority on the island, though it appears to have avoided the killings of albinos, who are "harvested" for black magic rituals, that regularly occurs in Tanzania.^[4]

Gallery

• 
  Coastal land, Ukerewe island, Tanzania
• 
  Sorghum field, Ukerewe island, Tanzania
• 
  Ukerewe Island-Mwanza Ferry leaving the port of Nansio
• 
  Boats in Speke Gulf

Notable People

• Alex Magaga - this musician is an activist, documentary producer and member of the Tanzania Albinism Collective.^[5][6][7][8]
• Aniceti Kitereza (1896–1981) was a Tanzanian Catholic cleric and novelist, born in 1896 on the island of Ukerewe.

See also

• Kerewe people