Four months ago, three fishermen— Mbarak Awadh Mbarak, Mohamed Bakari, and Karisa Gona Nguma — left Kenyan waters for fishing in a Kenyan flagged ship 'Maab Aqua.
Little did they know it was the beginning of atrocities in a foreign land.
The three who were arrested in July 2024 for allegedly engaging in illegal fishing in Madagascar’s waters have described their life in the country’s cells as ‘horrible’.
“The sufferings in the foreign land we cannot describe it. I can’t say more but we have suffered with little support from the Kenyan authorities,” said Mr Mbarak.
“As foreigners, we did not get adequate food and language barrier contributed to our problems abroad,” he said.
The three said they endured a difficult four months, anxiously awaiting their release. Unlike in ordinary cells, they were forced to look for food outside prison as there wasn’t enough to sustain them.
“Apart from food, sleeping on the floor has affected me and now part of my leg is numb. Since we were arrested, Kenyan authorities abandoned us, were it not for the International Transport Federation (ITF), we could have been left to rot in the foreign prison,” said Mr Bakari.
Fishing prohibited species
Mr Nguma on the other hand said they were sold out by the vessel owners who wanted to abandoned them after the vessel was detained for fishing sharks and other prohibited species.
“We have suffered, living in unspeakable conditions in 503 prisoner cells with only three chambers, were it not for one prisoner who speaks English, we could have suffered most as we do not speak French,” said Mr Nguma.
“We are asking the government and other maritime agencies to intervene and push for us to get our pay during the time we were in prison as our employer is nowhere to be found, he should be forced to pay,” said Mr Mbarak.
The government is urging owners of vessels operating within and beyond Kenyan waters to register their vessels and crew members to prevent future incidents that could place Kenyan citizens at risk.
The Kenyan-flagged boat, 'Maab Aqua,' was detained on July 8, with a crew of eight foreign fishermen—three Kenyans and five Sri Lankans.
The boat was found carrying 5,210 kilogrammes (Kgs) of sharks, 135 kgs of salted sharks, 70 kgs of shark fins, and 250 kgs of other fish, contrary to Article 37 of Madagascar's fisheries code, which states that no vessel may fish in its waters without a proper licence.
"Please note that they do not have a fishing licence from the Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy to fish in the sea of Madagascar during the investigation," the country's Ministry of Fisheries announced on Facebook.
Madagascar is home to nearly 80 species of sharks, 37 of which are threatened and listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List.
Blue Economy Cabinet Secretary (CS) Hassan Joho had previously issued warnings to ministry agencies that were failing in their duties.
He engaged in efforts to secure the fishermen’s release, taking a multi-ministry approach to bring them home as quickly as possible.
ITF official Caroline Maria said they had to work with different government authorities to avert such incidences in future.
