By Spy Uganda
Locals and fishermen in Kalangala islands have decried the continued abuse of human rights allegedly being perpetrated by Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) soldiers deployed on Lake Victoria.
Some of the victims of this human rights abuse told Spy Uganda that on Friday night November 29, 2019 soldiers attached to the Fisheries Protection Unit led by a one Capt. Abaho stormed Banda village, in Kagulube Parish, Mugoye, sub-county Bujumba county of Kalangala district.
According to our sources, soldiers moved with a list of suspected people involved in illegal fishing. They would knock at their doors in the wee hours of the night and whoever was found home was arrested on spot.
They are currently detained at the army detach in Mwena where they are being interrogated to disclose where the gears that they have been using in illegal fishing are.
The victims also revealed that this is an ongoing operation and has so far been carries out at Ssenero landing site, Kibanga landing site and many other places in Kalangala district. However, what is interesting is that Banda is not a landing site but just a village.
First things fast, on Saturday 30, 2019, the soldiers went back to the village and vandalized houses of both those who were arrested and those still at large, without following the due process of the law.
In the process, the houses of Kabogere Peter, Emmanuel Mweru, Nsereko Jackson, Lubowa Sande, Sserumaga, Asuman, Brown Ndugwa, Businje, Ssegirinya, Tamale Joseph, and a one Muddu were vandalized as you can see in the photos.
Secondly, in the campaign against illegal fisheries, if a person is arrested for illegal fishing, the boat if it is of recommended fishing size or the boat engine are arrested with them.
And on the other hand, if a person is arrested carrying illegal fish, their vehicles, motorcycle or bicycles they are using are also arrested.
What is interesting however, after the person going through the due process of the law, that is, they are sentenced and serves a sentence, pays a fine as ordered by court, on release, their boat, boat engine, vehicle, motorcycle or bicycle whatever they were arrested with as evidence to aid prosecution remain detained at the military detaches.
In this regard, peoples vehicles and the likes are rotting at military yards and are thus short of what to do and how to go for redress.
These people need to be helped and someone need to come to their rescue.
However, our efforts to contact the UPDF spokesperson Brig. Richard Karemire for a comment about this matter were futile as he couldn’t be readily got on phone.
