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Kalungu leaders task army to probe death of two fishermen
Fishermen attempt to retrieve the body of Ziyad Nsereko at Kamaliba landing site on March 7. The fishermen claim that the FPU soliders intentionally knock their boats to drown them. PHOTO/MUZAFARU NSUBUGA
What you need to know:
- The deceased have been identified as Willy Zziwa, 21, and Ziyad Nsereko,23, both residents of Kamuwunga Landing Site in Lukaya Town Council.
Local leaders in Kalungu District have tasked the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) to investigate the alleged killing of two fishermen by soldiers under the Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU) on Lake Victoria on March 5.
The deceased have been identified as Willy Zziwa, 21, and Ziyad Nsereko,23, both residents of Kamuwunga Landing Site in Lukaya Town Council.
The duo is said to have been engaging in illegal fishing near Kamaliba Fishing Landing site in neigbouring Mpigi District.
They reportedly drowned in the lake while three of their colleagues managed to swim to safety after they noticed that they FPU officers were chasing them.
However, the trio was later arrested and taken to Buwama Police Station.
It is reported that the fishermen were using outlawed fishing nets.
“This particular case should be thoroughly investigated by the army because similar incidents have happened in the past but no action is taken against the errant soldiers. Suspects should be treated humanely and with dignity,” Mr Ronald Ssemanda , the Kamuwunga Village chairperson, said on Thursday.
The Lukaya Town Council chairperson-elect, Mr Charles Tamale, asked President Museveni to engage civilians in operations against illegal fishing claiming that the soldiers are causing more harm than good .
“The soldiers are treating the fishermen like rebels. We all have a stake in that lake and if the fishermen are making mistakes, let their leaders penalize them not soldiers,” he said.
Mr Vincent Byakatonda, a fisherman, claimed that some soldiers knock their boats with intentions of drowning them.
“Some soldiers deployed on the lake are ruthless. When they intercept a boat which they suspect of engaging in illegal fishing, they don’t care whether the occupants drown or not, sometimes they deliberately knock off our boats,” he said
The Kalungu District chairperson-elect, Mr Kamaadi Nyombi Mukiibi, said the only magic bullet to end illegal fishing on Ugandan lakes is to deploy soldiers at the border points to arrest those who import illegal fishing gear into the country.
He advised the government to continue sensitising the fishermen instead of deploying soldiers to brutalise them.
“Sometimes when these fishermen are arrested, they are asked to pay huge amount of money to get bail. Many fail to raise the bail money and are remanded. I think this confusion on our lakes can be sorted out if the fishermen are well sensitised,” he said.
Maj Flavia Telimurungi, the spokesperson of the Masaka-based Mechanised Brigade –Kasijjagirwa, denied allegations that the soldiers had a hand in the death of the fishermen.
“It is not true that our soldiers killed the fishermen. What I know, some suspects usually run away by diving into the water and in the process some die, which is regrettable,” she said.
Maj Terimulungi said the soldiers saved two other fishermen who were on the verge of drowning.
“Since residents are making some allegations, we are going to investigate the individual soldiers who were part of that team. If there were some operational mistakes we shall see how to deal with them,” she added.
Due to persistent illegal fishing and declining fish stock on the lakes, President Museveni in 2017 established FPU to crackdown on the vice.
By the time the soldiers were deployed on the lakes , Nile perch catches had declined by 46 per cent from 2011 to 2015 while tilapia was lower by 38 per cent during the same period, according to Uganda’s National Fisheries Resources Research Institute’s fisheries catch assessment survey.
