Kenya’s Rural Border Patrol Police officers have detained 19 boats belonging to Ugandan fishermen at Nambo Beach in the Kenya’s Bondo sub-county, The Standard reports.
19 occupants and their vessels were confiscated by the police. The fishermen were allegedly fishing in the Kenyan waters on Monday night.
The arrest which was led by Inspector Benard Ongoro is seen as a retaliatory move by the Kenyan security officers following the arrest, torture and extortion of Kenyan fishermen by their Uganda counterparts, says the report.
According to the report, last week more than 80 Kenyan fishermen were arrested, detained at Uganda’s Sigulu Island. They were fined KShs.150, 000; close to $1500 by Uganda authorities for allegedly fishing in Ugandan waters and failing to pay tax.
It is believed the move by the Kenyan authorities is aimed at forcing bi-lateral talks between respective ministries in the two countries to find a lasting solution to the protracted fishing conflict in the waters of Lake Victoria.
