Locals warned against fishing in DRC
Security. A UPDF Officer patrols Lake Albert shoreline in Hoima District in July. In the past weeks several fishermen have been attacked on the lake. PHOTO BY FRANCIS MUGERWA
What you need to know:
On Monday last week, Kaiso police post registered an incident in which five fishermen on Lake Albert were attacked by a suspected Congolese group armed with machetes and arrows.
HOIMA. Security officials have warned Ugandans against fishing in Congolese waters following shooting of seven Ugandan fishermen on Lake Albert last week.
Lake Albert straddles on the Uganda-DR Congo border. Ironically, in the waters, there is no marked boundary separating the two countries.
On January 20, Saturday Monitor published a story on why Lake Albert and River Nile have sparked conflicts.
“We have done a community policing outreach where we have cautioned them against going to the DRC side of the lake to fish or search for bodies,” Mr Julius Hakiza, the Albertine regional police spokesperson, said.
Mr Hakiza said some fishermen are crossing to DRC to fish because of depleting stock on Ugandan landing sites.
“Some fishermen are accusing us of not helping them to recover bodies but we cannot go in water and cross the border without clearance from our headquarters at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Foreign Affairs,” he added.
Four Ugandan fishermen from Kaiso Landing Site were on Saturday evening killed on Lake Albert in western Uganda by an armed group suspected. The deceased have been identified as Patrick Chobidongo, Ozunga, Moses and Eric.
Chobidongo and Ozunga were part of a group of fishermen from Kaiso Landing Site in Hoima District who travelled on Saturday afternoon to the DRC side to search for Ali Ozele’s body. Ozele drowned in Lake Albert on Monday.
The Kaiso LCI chairman, Mr Henry Irumba, said the team received a call from DRC instructing them to pick the body.
It is reported that when the fishermen arrived at Para Landing Site, an unidentified armed group shot at them, killing Chobidongo and Ozunga instantly. Their bodies were recovered by other fishermen.
Mr Peter Agenonga, a coxswain, who survived the shooting, said Ogeni, Boy Rwel, Gideon Omoro and Komakech Ondiga, who were on the same boat, were shot at and they are feared dead. Another fisherman only identified as Omakayo, who sustained injuries during the attack, is receiving treatment at Hoima Regional Referral Hospital.
Mr Hakiza said they will engage the Congolese government on establishing a clear boundary in the lake.
