Buvuma County is 72km from Kampala to Kiyindi on Lake Victoria. It can only be accessed by a ferry at Kiyindi which takes approximately one hour to cross from Kiyindi to the mainland. There are also unofficial small boat services from Kiyindi, a major fishing village on the shores of Lake Victoria. It is 20km from the mainland (Buvuma) to the County (Saza) headquarters at Maggyo village. Buvuma is composed of several islands such as Nyenda, Buziri, Sindiro, Mpata, Mwema, Kibibi, Serinya, Malija, Mpungu, Bugaya, Nvunza, Lufu, Yumbe, Zzinga, and Lingira among others. The inhabitants remained independent for several years. They were known as Bagwe and Bazinga, but had no King. Kabaka Jjuuko’s brother conquered and ruled them, but was later removed. The Sekiboobo later subdued them.
History has it that the island which had been a beehive of activity for centuries was once visited by the Sekiboobo. He is said to have had protruding front teeth and once, upon arriving with a huge delegation of royals, the local people failed to identify who among the men was the Kabaka. One young man lamented in Lusoga (dialect spoken in Busoga Region) wondering if the man with protruding teeth could actually be the King. The Royal Delegation is said to have been angered by this blatant show of disrespect and since then the Baganda Royals began referring to the people inhabiting this island as “Bavuma” (meaning they insult others). Buvuma Island lost its independence to Buganda in 1893. Mbuubi is the title given to the county chief.
