Homa Bay fishermen catch bullets in Lake Victoria
Fishermen in Homa Bay County surrendered the cache of bullets they found in Lake Victoria to the Mbita Police Station. PHOTO | BARACK ODUOR | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- This is not the first time fishermen at the lake have landed an unusual catch.
- In the recent past, six bombs were discovered in the lake.
- Some residents suspect the weapons were discarded in the lake during the Second World War.
Four fishermen on Lake Victoria had a surprising day out on the water, heaving in more than 800 live bullets in their net.
The 806 rounds of ammunition, packed in a metal box, were discovered at Nkodhe Beach at 3am on Wednesday.
The fishermen were out in search of small fish locally known as omena when they caught the box with their net.
According to Litare Beach Management Unit chairman Wilson Nyajwaya, some fishermen thought they had come across a precious metal in the waters, while others thought they had caught a big fish.
“Omena is usually light but we were surprised because the net was extraordinarily heavy,” said Mr Nyajwaya.
Mr Nyajwaya said they had a difficult time pulling the net to the shore of the lake.
Litare Beach Management Unit Chairperson Wilson Nyajwaya displays some of bullets at Mbita Police Station on February 10, 2017. PHOTO | BARACK ODUOR | NATION MEDIA GROUP.
When the fishermen finally brought the rusted box to land, they were hesitant to open it and decided to hand it over to police officers.
ILLEGIBLE MARKINGS
Nyanza region police coordinator Willy Lugusa said the cache is rusted and so the markings on all the 7.62 mm bullets are illegible.
“They were in an iron container and we examined each of them and we could not read any of the markings. For now we are trying to find out what may have happened around that area in the past because it is the third time we have found such a cache,” he said.
The type of ammunitions found are commonly used in rifles.
Mbita OCPD Wilson Nanga said the bullets are useable. “We have tested and discovered that the bullets are live,” said Mr Nanga.
Some of the bullets found in the lake at Mbita Police Station. PHOTO | BARACK ODUOR | NATION MEDIA GROUP.
This is not the first time fishermen at the lake have landed an unusual catch. In the recent past, six bombs were discovered in the lake.
Homa Bay County Beach Management Network chairman Edward Oremo said some residents suspect the weapons were discarded in the lake during World War II.
“Some elders here say they saw helicopters disposing of some weapons in the lake during the Second World War but they did not know what kind of weapons they were,” said Mr Oremo.
Mr Lugusa said the cache is in safe custody as investigations continue.
Additional reporting by Fred Mukinda.
