Four Ugandan fishermen released from Congo

Four Ugandan fishermen who were allegedly kidnapped by unidentified Congolese gunmen on Wednesday last week, have returned home.
The fishermen have only been identified as Jakisa, Kadogo, Merici and Fula, all from Kaiso landing site in Buseruka Sub County in Hoima District.

The four were said to have been kidnapped by the gunmen while fishing on Lake Albert and taken to Jo landing site in Bunia District in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo Province of Ituri. The gunmen also took one boat, five engines and fishing nets worth about Shs80m.
Mr Geoffrey Komakech, the Buseruka Sub County LC V councilor led a seven-man delegation to engage Congolese authorities over the abduction of the fishermen. Komakech told this reporter that the four fishermen were released on Saturday evening unconditionally after a series of meetings between his team, local authorities in Bunia and the fisheries department at Jo and Kisinyi landing sites in DRC.

"As I speak to you now, the four people who were abducted by Congolese are back home and are free to return to their fishing activities," he said on phone.
Mr Komakech however, says his team was concerned that the fishermen were held in a private home shortly after their abduction.
He explains that the Congolese fisheries department claimed responsibility for the abduction, saying the fishermen were found fishing deep in their waters on the shared lake. He says that during the meeting, they agreed that the Congolese fisheries authorities coordinate their night operations with their Ugandan counterparts to avoid exposing the fishermen to pirates who may abduct them for ransom.

According to Ugandan fishermen, DRC authorities ask for between $700 (about Shs2,520,000) and $800 (about Shs2,880,000) for every individual they capture during such uncoordinated operations.
Komakech says that the Congolese fisheries department accuses fishermen from Kaiso, Tibagoro, Ndondo and Kyehoro landing sites in Hoima District of encroaching on their waters.
The fishermen reportedly cross into the DRC waters to capture silver fish locally known as mukene which is prohibited in DRC but is a delicacy in Uganda. Efforts to reach David Adubango, the chairperson of the fishermen, were futile as his known mobile phone number couldn't go through by the time of filing this story.