Fishermen on Lake Albert accuse UPDF officers of torture and harassment

NTOROKO-Residents in Kanara town council and Butungama Subcounty in Ntoroko district have accused the Uganda People’s Defense Forces [ UPDF ] Fisheries Protection Unit [FPU] officers of harassment and torture of their colleagues doing fishing on Lake Albert.

Residents in this area who are mostly fishermen claim that despite the fact that the majority of them are flood victims whose only source of livelihood has been fishing, they can no longer access the lake.

The fishermen say since the deployment of the UPDF officers on Lake Albert to prevent illegal methods of fishing, they are facing a hard time accessing the lake.

They say the continued harassment and brutality by the fisheries unit officers is likely to lead them to starve as there is a food shortage in the area.

In 2020, the UPDF fisheries protection unit was deployed on Lake Albert as one measure to combat illegal fishing.

The deployment came after the closure of illegal landing sites on Lake Albert.

UPDF FPU was first deployed in 2017 as part of a presidential directive to combat illegal fishing practices and protect the fish resource that was under threat of depletion.

Although the unit also operates along fish trade routes and markets to stop the sale of immature fish, there was no deployment on Lakes Victoria, Edward, George, and Kyoga.

Joab Musinguzi one of the fishermen living on Lake Albert told the Cooperator that when floods hit the district [Ntoroko] in 2019, the majority of their nets and boats were destroyed and they were left with nothing.

“We have for long been depending on fishing for our livelihood but when we were hit by the floods, after failing to provide for us basic needs like food, shelter, and medical services, government instead deployed soldiers on the lake to beat us,” Musinguzi said.

Musinguzi said when floods hit, their houses were submerged and they are now fishing from what would be their compounds but not in the lake.

He however noted that though they are not fishing in the lake, soldiers who were deployed on the lake come and confiscate their boats and beat them which they say is an infringement of their rights.

Jacob Mugume who is also a fisherman on the same lake said the fisheries unit has gone ahead to confiscate fish from people in Internally Displaced Camps [IDP] yet it’s their only source of livelihood.

According to Mugume, when the minister in charge of fisheries Hellen Adoa visited the area with Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, warned the FPU against brutalizing residents in Kanara town council but they have gone ahead to do so.

Claire Tuhaise a resident said as people in the fishing business, feel betrayed by the government for failing to support them in acquiring the recommended fishing tools to enable them to get back to normal business after three years of flooding.

Fishermen say if the government doesn’t intervene to save the situation, the UPDF fisheries unit has continued to brutalize the local population without sensitising them on good methods of fishing.

Residents said the continued beating, burning, and confiscation of their fish and fishing materials from the IDPs has left them in dire poverty amidst the rising cost of living in the county.

However, when the UPDF Fisheries Protection Unit spokesperson Deogracious Ssentimba was contacted about the matter, he denied the allegations saying that the fishermen are telling lies to tarnish the name of the officers deployed on the lake.

He however said that the operations will continue to ensure the illegal fishing activities are strongly erased as stipulated in the Fisheries Act.

https://thecooperator.news/high-fuel-prices-threaten-kasese-fishing-communities/

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