Tension has gripped the islands of Lake Victoria following the arrest of 24 fishermen by the Ugandan coastguard on allegations of trespassing.
The fishermen, who are currently detained on Lolwe Island in Uganda, were arrested on Wednesday night while returning from a fishing trip to Ringiti Island in Homa Bay County.
Barnabas Odhiambo, the chairperson of the Ringiti Island Beach Management Unit (BMU), confirmed the incident and said that the fishermen had been detained on suspicion of illegally crossing into Uganda.
“We learnt about the arrest on Thursday evening when one of the fishermen who had been arrested reached out to us via phone call to alert us of the situation,” said Mr Odhiambo, who added that the fishermen have not been in touch since then.
Mr Odhiambo says the fishermen were divided into two groups, each with three boats.
The BMU chairman said that six fishing boats were also impounded during the incident on Wednesday night.
"The lake is vast and has no clear marking to show if a fisherman has moved to another country," Mr Odhiambo said.
The detention of the fishermen led to tension among fishing groups, who called on the government to act swiftly and ensure the release of those arrested.
This arrest comes barely a month after Kenya’s President William Ruto and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni agreed to issue joint fishing licences to ensure fairness and equal access to lake resources, thus ending the long-standing dispute over Migingo Island.
Earlier this year, while attending the Blue Economy summit at Tom Mboya University in Homa Bay Town on May 30 this year, President William Ruto pledged to ensure the security of the fishermen in the freshwater lake.
He directed the Kenya Coast Guard Service (KCGS) to ensure they safeguard Kenyan fishermen in the lake.
Dr Ruto said that the harassment of fishermen was one of the issues that his administration was working to address.
To reduce conflict, the head of state proposed introducing a common law to guide fishing in the three East African countries: Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
"Discussion about this is at the ministerial level. We will then take it up at the presidential level and ensure we have uniform laws," Dr Ruto said.
As the chairperson of the East Africa Community, the president said he would use his position to fast-track the policy development process.
Dr Ruto argued that his administration relies on fishermen to support the economy and food security.
According to Mr Odhiambo, arrested fishermen are usually not charged in court, but forced to pay large fines instead.
However, he said that there are no statistics on previous arrests of fishermen for similar offences.
"We have had similar experiences in the past and had to pay huge fines to secure freedom. The amount varies. Our hopes now lie on the government which should act fast and ensure the fishermen are released," Ms Odhiambo said.
Moreover, fishermen who have been arrested often complain of being harassed by security officials from the neighbouring country.
Often, fishermen from Siaya, Migori and Homa Bay find themselves held captives in Uganda when they cross the boundary to conduct fishing.
This is despite the presence of armed security officers in the lake, KCGS, who should be able to deal with the problem.
Homa Bay County Beach Management Units deputy chairman Tom Guda claimed that corruption is one of the reasons fuelling cases of arrests in the lake.
“Relevant sources have formed us that the fishermen are always charged in kangaroo courts while the officers pocket the money most of the time,” Mr Guda said.
He has now called for the harmonisation of fishing laws in the three East African Countries to ensure safety in the lake.
“Fishing laws are different in the three countries and often fishermen get into conflict when they violate laws in a different country. Having a common law will ensure fishermen never get confused when they move from one location to another,” Mr Guda said.
