Over the Christmas break, my family and I travelled to our rural home in Nyanza, western Kenya, to a town called Sori, near Lake Victoria. Sori is a small town with fresh air, a bar, a restaurant, a bank, and an M-Pesa agent.

The air is tinged with two smells, that of clean water-soaked lake winds and of fresh fish laid out to dry in the morning sun.

The view of the lake is breathtaking; as the rays of the sun reflect on the water.

My visit included a trip to nearby Migingo, one of the most famous islands of Lake Victoria. Migingo has been the object of a dispute between Kenya and Uganda, raising patriotic fervour, heart rates and angry voices across regional groups.

After manipulation, negotiation and prodding among family members, we agreed on a date to visit the island. At around 9am in the morning one day, a group of 15 of us set off for Ongukwa.

Beach

Ongukwa is a small beach and fish landing site on the lake shore, about two hours from Migingo by boat. This part of Kenya has not seen the development that roads bring, and as a result the boats are run using the meagre earnings of the fishermen.

They are basically carved pieces of wood with a motor attached to the back. These boats can fit about 15 people sitting in two rows, or three on a busy day.

Each boat has a bucket for scooping water out. The boats don’t dock on dry land, so you get wet when entering or getting of them. In addition, they rock back and forth dangerously - one of my aunts gave up on the trip just as soon as the motor of the boat we were on started (it had taken almost 20 minutes for the motor to come to life).

We set off in two boats. Whenever I am in a large body of water, I get a feeling of calm. I am quiet and contemplative. I put my hand in the water and the waves gently pushed it back. The lake, that looked blue from far, was dark up close. The waves looked silvery grey, shimmering and shining.

Soon Migingo began to appear on the horizon and the fishermen gave us a brief history of the island. Our guide told us that Migingo was actually a trio of what was known affectionately around the area as the Migingo group of islands.

The bone of contention is an island called Usingo. This is a much bigger island than Migingo, and is securely within Kenya’s borders. Next to it is Pyramid Island, even bigger and farther than the other islands, located in Tanzanian waters.

Protocol

Kenyans must pass through Usingo on their way to Migingo. Usingo is deserted; there are no houses, no boats in its harbours.

We heard that there was a registration procedure necessary to proceed to Migingo. The harbour our boat docked at was as rocky as our reception. Officers dressed in sleeveless shirts, ragged shorts and headbands, and with loud commanding voices, were hostile to the people in charge of the boats, but polite and helpful to those who seemed out of place, like my family members.

They ordered us all out of the boats, helping people who were not steady on their feet.

We sat on a rocky hill near the harbour. One of the officers told us that we had committed a crime by using a boat that had no life-jackets or buoys. They explained that because of the territorial issues being negotiated, we could not visit the island unannounced. At this point they explained who exactly they were: Boslo — the Border Sea and Lake Operations — a unit within the Administrative Police of Kenya.

The officers confiscated the engine of one of our boats, terming it unseaworthy.

Some of the members of my family blamed the operatives for not posting someone on the other side of the lake to warn about the perils of sailing without lifejackets.

The Boslo officers informed us that they would use their own boat, which was safe enough, to ferry us back to the mainland.

They allowed us to see Migingo while we waited for them to get ready. We walked to the side of Usingo that faced Migingo. It was underwhelming. The island is about half an acre in size. A walk around the perimeter could be completed in less than 10 minutes. The rock that launched so many studies on the border line is just that, a rock.

On every possible space there are shanty houses. Rough, temporary structures built out of sheet metal. Because of the proximity to the lake, rust is as much a part of the shacks as metal.

There were boats all around the island on natural harbours. Reports about Migingo mention the huge bounty of fish around the island. Only in Migingo can you dock more than 10 boats at the same time.

Meanwhile, Boslo were ready to go, dressed in AP fatigues, green camouflage with side-pockets and black heavy boots. They carried weapons and binoculars. All 15 of us fitted into their large speedboat and there was space at the front for provisions.

In stark contrast to our previous transport, their boat cut right through the water as they took us around Migingo and then headed for Ongukwa.

But suddenly they changed direction and sailed towards what looked like a speck in the distance.

As we came closer we saw that it was a boat with a Tanzanian registration.

We pulled up alongside the boat. One of the operatives went to the front of the speedboat and pulled it towards us. He then stepped over and began talking to the four man crew of the Tanzanian boat.

We drifted back and forth as we waited for him to finish. Finally one of the Boslo operatives commandeered the foreign vessel. We were informed later that the boat had sailed into Kenyan waters illegally and the Boslo were taking it back to their base.

There were no other hiccups on our way back, although to the consternation of the locals we had brought government officers to the peaceful enclave.