The leadership of Congolese fishermen operating on Lake Edward shared between Uganda and DRC are demanding for the release of their colleagues currently detained in Uganda.
Kambale Nyerere Josué said on Monday, that the fishermen were mostly from the lakeside town of Kyavinyonge in Beni territory. They were arrested by the Ugandan navy during their activities on Lake Edward and successively taken to Uganda. Some have been there for many months, others only for a few days.
In the past week alone, a new wave of 21 fishermen was seized by Ugandan forces, who later took them away. Their fault is to have violated, according to the Ugandan authorities, the liquid border between the 2 countries, Uganda and the DRC.
Despite numerous negotiations initiated by the authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo and those from Uganda, there seems to be no hope.
Rejecting the accusations of the Ugandan side that talks about the violation of its lake borders, the fishermen’s vice president calls on the Congolese government to act without delay to save a worsening situation.
Fishing has become very difficult for us here with the Ugandans. They make life very difficult for us. In just one week, they have just stopped 7 canoes. Let our government speak with Uganda so that the lacustrine limits are clearly defined so that we really know who violates this limit. Because for all the arrests, the Ugandans say that we crossed over to their home. We don’t understand,he says.
It is also noted that despite the visit of President Félix Tshisekedi to his counterpart Yoweri Museveni during which the two heads of state discussed this issue, nothing seems to change on the ground.