Ugandans seize Kenyans’ Sh500,000 fish at gunpoint
PHOTO | FILE Administration police officers stationed at Migingo Island pack their guns inside a security speed boat on July 11, 2013.
What you need to know:
- Migingo assistant chief Julius Odhiambo called an emergency meeting to try and calm the situation but the Ugandan representatives did not attend.
Ugandan security forces have again accosted Kenyan fishermen in Lake Victoria and impounded fish worth Sh500,000.
The Ugandans, who are based on the disputed Migingo Island, took the two tonnes of Nile Perch at gunpoint.
Migingo Beach Management Unit chairman Juma Ombori said the Ugandans encroached into Kenyan waters and stopped the fishermen on Thursday night.
“They impounded the entire catch of the fishermen from Gwasii, Muhuru, Kiwa and Nyandiwa beaches. The fish were loaded into their patrol boats and they took off. We are tired of this continued harassment by Ugandan security forces while our government sleeps,” he said.
He said Kenyan officers based at Migingo appeared unperturbed by the raid despite it being conducted in Kenyan waters.
Migingo assistant chief Julius Odhiambo called an emergency meeting to try and calm the situation but the Ugandan representatives did not attend.
Yesterday, Nyatike District Commissioner Moses Ivuto said the incident was being investigated.
He said he was liaising with the administration in Bugiri District in Uganda in an effort to get to the bottom of the matter.
