Kenya fishermen arrested by Uganda police officers for fishing on their territories.
At least 51 fishermen from Homabay have been arrested by Uganda police officers for fishing on the Ugandan side of Lake Victoria. According to Homabay Beach Management Chairperson, Mr Edward Oremo, Uganda police officers captured 17 fishing boats from the Kenya fishermen and each boat had at least three people on board. This brings the total number of people suspected to be in the hands of Uganda police to 51 but could be more.
The chairperson of the beach management unit said that the fishermen who were arrested were from Remba Island and they were arrested while on a fishing expedition.
Uganda police claim that the Kenya fishermen had closed the Kenya Uganda border to fish on the Ugandan side at the time of the arrest. The police are also accusing the fishermen of being in possession of fishing nets that are not up to the agreed standards.
Mr Oremo, however disputed the allegations from the Uganda police and noted that despite being hard for fishermen to locate the Uganda Kenya border, it is still hard for them to have crossed the border to the Ugandan territories.
The chairperson now wants the Kenyan government to intervene and secure release of the arrested fishermen. He also wants the government to come up with a long term agreement with the Uganda authorities to tame future arrests of the fishermen.
