Case file · Folklore / legend
The spirit of Bujagali Falls
The rapids of Bujagali on the Nile below Lake Victoria were home to a river spirit, Budhagali, whose living medium was said to cross the rapids on a bark cloth; in November 2011 a hydroelectric dam drowned the falls.
2011 CE · 0.50, 33.14 · status: account
The account
Before construction the developers paid for ceremonies to move the spirit, which the reigning medium, Jaja Bujagali, and rival claimants disputed. Some Busoga elders said the spirit had agreed to move, others that it never would, and the dispute featured in news coverage of the dam.
The sceptical view
The spirit's consent is a religious claim; the ceremonies and the dam are documented.