41 kenyan fishermen fined KSh 24,000 each for fishing in Ugandan territory

41 Kenyan fishermen arrested by Ugandan police near Lolwe Island, in Lake Victoria have been slapped with a fine of KSh 24,000 each or a jail term of seven months if they fail to pay the fine.

The fishermen have been in custody have been in the custody of the Ugandan authorities for the last one and a half months after being arrested on allegations of fishing in a section belonging to Uganda.

The leadership of Yimbo Beach Management Units Network in Bondo, Siaya County, where the fishermen come from, has called on the government to intervene so that their colleagues can be bailed out. 

This comes at a time when Ministry of Fisheries, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs officer Mrs. Lucy Obungu, says that they have already engaged a multi-agency team to find ways of making Lake Victoria safe for the Kenyan fishermen.

She revealed that the government was working on ways of strengthening the cross-border collaboration between Kenya and Uganda adding that they also think of harmonizing the laws and regulations that govern operations in the lake to end the perennial conflicts.