41 Kenyan fishermen who were arrested by Ugandan authorities near Lolwe Island, in Lake Victoria have finally been arraigned in a court in Uganda.
The fishermen, who have been in the custody of the Ugandan police for the last one and a half months were slapped with a fine of Ksh. 24,000 each or a jail term of seven months in case they fail to pay the fine.
They had been arrested on allegations of fishing in a section belonging to the neighbouring country.
As a result of the hefty penalty that has been imposed on the fishermen who come from Bondo, Siaya County, the leadership of Yimbo Beach Management Units Network has appealed for government intervention 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.
