Fishermen seek to form vigilantes to tackle crime in Lake Victoria
Fishermen prepare their nets to fish, mainly for Nile perch, in Lake Victoria on the border between Uganda and Kenya on October 5, 2018.
On December 18, 2024, two dead bodies with deep cuts and suspected to be those of fishermen, were found floating on the Ugandan side of Lake Victoria, raising concerns about criminal activity in East Africa’s largest freshwater fishery.
Police and community leaders say there have been three violent deaths on the lake in the past seven months, with an escalation in cases of boat hijacking and at least 130 thefts of outboard engines in 2024.
This has prompted the fishermen to petition the Ugandan army to come to their aid.
“We are perplexed by what is going on in Lake Victoria. It’s a matter of life and death,” the fishermen said in a petition, dated December 12, 2024, and delivered to the Bombo military headquarters a week before Christmas.
The petition was signed by James Karemera, chairman of the Nile perch conservation lobby, the Empuuta Conservation and Stakeholders Association.
The fishermen also sought permission to form vigilante groups to secure their businesses.
The fishermen blame the security lapses on the laxity of the police marine units, the army's Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU) and the district security committees charged with enforcing security on the lake.
Joshua Mukiibi of the Empuuta Conservation and Stakeholders Association cites the Lyabaana and Liibu landing sites in Buvuma District, Nkose and Jaana in Kalangala District, and Kimi in Mukono District as hotspots for robbery.
In Buvuma, which borders Kenya, area legislator Robert Migadde told Parliament in December that at least 40 outboard engines had been stolen, while community leaders in Kyotera District on the Uganda-Tanzania border also reported 90 engines stolen.
Lieutenant Leuben Ndifula, spokesperson of the FPU, says fishermen often fail to report incidents on the lake to the security teams.
“We had put a stop to criminality on the water,” Lt Ndifula said. “Insecurity can be dealt with if fishermen share timely information with security agencies.”
On December 26, the marine police unit arrested seven suspects and seized two Yamaha outboard engines valued at $3,804.
