Raila Odinga (left) joins Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni on the campaign trail in Uganda, December 15, 2010.
| FileNews
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Raila pledges to save ‘harassed’ Kenyan fishermen from Ugandan forces
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has urged Ugandan security officers not to harass Kenyan fishermen on Lake Victoria.
Mr Odinga said he will seek talks with the Ugandan government like “a good neighbour” after constant complaints but hinted that deploying the navy to protect Kenyans remained an option if negotiations failed.
From time to time, Kenyan fishermen on Lake Victoria have complained about how they are treated by Ugandan security officers.
Claims of harassment and torture are common among fishermen from Migori and Homa Bay counties.
They also say they are heavily fined when they are arrested and detained in Uganda.
Mr Odinga said he was aware of stories about Kenyan fishermen being forced to eat raw fish when caught supposedly crossing into the Ugandan side of the lake.
He told Ugandan officers not to intimidate Kenyans, saying the lake is a shared water resource and should be used to benefit people from both countries.
Some of the challenges that Kenyan fishermen face on the lake arise from the Kenyan government’s failure to invest in security on inland waters.
Just recently, the State unveiled a new unit of the Kenya Coast Guard Services in Mbita town.
Kenyan fishermen in Lake Victoria says the frequent arrests by security officials from Uganda and Tanzania have made their struggle for a livelihood in the lake a nightmare.
The operations of this unit are yet to be felt, as isolated cases of harassment are still reported on the lake.
Speaking in Homa Bay town on Monday at the games of the Wanga Genowa Tournament, Mr Odinga said Kenya would engage the Ugandan side on resolving the matter but further action could follow if the harassment did not stop.
Hurt them
"We will first talk to the Ugandan government to stop harassing our fishermen. If they continue, we shall consider using the Navy to protect our people," he said.
The lake, he said, should be used to help the people around it, not to hurt them.
He said plans were being developed to transform the lives of people around the lake by empowering them through agriculture.
"The lake has enough water that can support irrigation over a large area. This is besides other provisions that the lake offers like fish," Mr Odinga said.
Following the 2018 handshake between Mr Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta, the government embarked on reviving the collapsed water transport, with the Kisumu port as its showcase project.
Goods are now transported to Uganda through the lake but ports within Kenya are also being revived.
Mr Odinga said the marine economy in Kenya has not been fully exploited.
"We are still rehabilitating ports all over the lake. We have great plans to make the water more useful to us," he said.
