KDF arrest 2 Ugandan soldiers who beat up Kenyan fishermen
Kenya Defence Forces(KDF) officers arrested two Ugandan soldiers on Thursday at a port town in Busia County
Kenya Defence Forces(KDF) officers arrested two Ugandan soldiers on Thursday at a port town in Busia County.
The two officers from Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) were arrested at the Sumba Island in Port Victoria over claims of targeting and harassing Kenyan fishermen operating on Lake Victoria.
The officers, Richard Amrie and Michael Busola, at the time of their arrest, had already detained several Kenyan fishermen and were preparing how to take them to Uganda.
Their apprehension followed intelligence tips that the locals and fishermen gave to the KDF officers patrolling the waters at the time of the incident.
This followed plights from the locals of how the neigbouring country officers often crossed over to harass Kenyan fishermen before detaining them for longer hours.
Following the arrest of the UPDF soldiers, locals praised KDF officers for their swift response, revealing that they had been beaten and injured by the officers on Wednesday.
”Yesterday they arrested me and told us to follow a certain route. I complied, only to be told that I was planning an escape. One officer took me into their boat and immediately pounced on me with beatings,” one of the fishermen who was arrested by the Ugandan officers narrated.
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”He hit me three times on the chest using the buttstock of the gun he was having. I was compelled to ask why he was beating me after arresting me because they have been really harassing us,” he added.
The two officers, of sergeant rank, were later detained at Budalangi Police Station in Busia County, pending the completion of investigations into their conduct.
However, it was not immediately clear whether the officers would be handed over to Uganda or presented in court.
Cases of fishermen losing fishing gear to robbers, harassment by police and military officers from neighbouring countries in the lake have been common.
The cases have threatened to spill over to diplomatic tensions over boundary rows within the waters of Lake Victoria, a concern that prompted the government to deploy KDF and Coast Guard officers to patrol and protect Kenya’s territorial boundaries.
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