The Ugandan government has deployed heavily armed police officers to man the one acre Migingo Island starting Saturday.
Tension was high as the officers lowered the Kenyan flag hoisted on Friday. The Kenyan security forces while the Ugandans put on a show stayed away just like the fishermen who have accused the latter of harassing them.
“Scores of Kenyan fishermen have been accosted in the lake and robbed of fish. It seems Uganda has not let go of Migingo,” a fisherman told the Nation.
It has also been reported that the Ugandan forces have hired Luo speaking spies to “collect intelligence” on their behalf.
“Most of the officers do not understand Luo. They have therefore recruited some Kenyans, at a fee, to spy for them,” another fisherman said.
The Migingo Beach Management unit chairman John Obunge said they reported the matter to the authorities who are yet to take action.
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Nyatike MP Tom Odege further accused the government of remaining silent while Ugandan officers “continue to make arbitrary arrests of Kenyan fishermen and police officers.”
Ownership row of the fish rich island started in 2014 but an agreement was met by Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet and his Uganda counterpart Gen. Kale Kayihura in August 2016.
Both countries agreed to form a joint taskforce that will see Police from the two countries patrol the disputed island in Lake Victoria and the entire common border.
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