Panic, torture, and deaths on Lake Kyoga blamed on the UPDF

Amolatar I In 2017, the Ugandan government imposed a ‘fishing holiday’ on Lake Kyoga and other lakes to prevent small-catch fishing.

The government, through President Yoweri Museveni, would later delegate management of fishing activities on the Lakes to the UPDF’s Fishery Protection Unit [FPU], which would ensure that all illegal fishing gear, boats, and humans were prohibited from fishing.

The operation has allowed fish in Lake Kyoga to grow, as it has in other lakes.

However, as operations continue, there have been numerous reports of UPDF torture and killing of fishermen.

Many fishermen have spoken out, revealing how they were beaten by UPDF. To back up their claims, they have shown wounds on their buttocks as well as the bodies of those killed.

When reports of torture and killing surfaced in July 2020, the government relaxed fishing restrictions while requiring the use of recommended boats, nets, and licences to ensure that no small catch fishing occurs again.

When full restrictions were reinstated, reports of continuous beating increased, with some claiming they are now being beaten in Lake Shores.

Five out of every ten deaths and rapes on Lake Kyoga are attributed to UPDF officers, either on the lake or on land.

This prompted a meeting on March 28, 2024, at the Namasale Landing site. During the meeting, Geoffrey Ocen, LC5 chairperson of Amolatar, accused the UPDF of illegal fishing.

Ocen urged the UPDF to promote legal fishing rather than illegal fishing, stating that in the end, fishermen’s lives are at risk.

He also stated that there is a lot of segregation on the lake, with fishermen from Amolatar being beaten and arrested while others are left fishing with non-recommended fishing gear.

He also stated that the performance of FPU should be reviewed and investigated in order to resolve the issues of rape and beatings.

“I want to let you know that I am leading a traumatised district; our people were raped, property was destroyed, the UPDF took over the Lake and is controlling it, unconcerned about the welfare of the local people; all of this was caused by noncompliance with enforcement, and yet our people complained, and they were following the proper procedures, recruiting civilians and forcing them to wear UPDF uniforms to carry out the operation,” said the LC5.

Kyoga County MP Okot Moses Junior Bitek stated that the Parliament of Uganda has proposed withdrawing the UPDF from the lakes, and that they have six months to leave Lake Kyoga.

Okot also stated that in 2020, the daughter of one Ogwang was raped by a UPDF officer he only identified as Akunda. This occurred after the victim’s father was arrested and later detained by the UPDF at Amolatar Central Police Station.

MP Okot is dismayed that he has never seen a community court justice in Amolatar, and that there was a double homicide involving two sons of one Odwe, but he (Odwe) was arrested and prosecuted.

“I want to notify the regional CID to take interest and investigate the murder of two people on the lake in January,” said Okot.

Dr. Agness Atim Apea, a woman Member of Parliament from Amolatar, questioned why the UPDF was still in the Lake, claiming that what they were doing was contrary to their mission.

Judith Alyek, Kole woman MP and chairperson of the Lango Parliamentary Group, questions whether the UPDF truly understands the law.

Alyek stated that enough is enough with the brutality of the Lake’s fishermen, urging for a new team to manage fishing activities.

Many atrocities have occurred, and reports show that 47 people have died in the Lake since 2017, according to Alyek, who is calling for an extensive investigation by external investigators.

“As the Lango Parliamentary Group, we are going to write our report from today’s meeting, and because of the many atrocities that have occurred in Lake Kyoga, we want thorough investigations; we have investigators in the police and the UPDF, but we are going to demand external investigators.”

Baker Amis, a fisherman, claims that the recommended nets are ineffective and urges Parliament to provide nets for them.

Another fisherman, Otaka George, asked the government to allow them to use filament nets because they work well and catch good-sized fish.

Another fisherman, Parick Ongom, claims that UPDF officers are also fishing with illegal nets. “This is why most fishermen are arrested and beaten,” he says.

Apio Jennifer stated that on January 2, 2024, a UPDF officer identified as Mppaire Israel confiscated her fish worth shs50 million, despite the fact that she had the trading documents. Apio added that all of her children have returned home because she lost everything in the fish business.

tndNews reached out to a family whose three children died as a result of Lake operations. Sarah Anyango of Kibangani ‘A’ village, Namsale sub-county, is the mother of three boys: Ekell James, an S6 leaver, was killed in 2019, Obote Ivan, 19, died in 2019, and Opio Denis, 26, died on March 3, 2024.

Anyongo went on to say that the FPU killed all three of his boys in Lake Kyoga during separate operations.

“It has been tragic throughout my life, especially the recent one when my son was discovered lifeless after a two-day search only to find out he had a broken neck,” she told this publication.

Her husband, she claims, is in detention for unknown reasons following the death of his son.

Anyango is now requesting that the government care for her grandson, whom his deceased father left behind.

When contacted for comment, Amolatar district fishery officer Anthony Otunga denied receiving any complaints from fishermen about torture and referred this publication to the RDC.

Amolatar DPC SSP Christopher Kigundu Katumba stated that he has received reports of assault by UPDF while conducting operations and that they are now prepared to receive any type of complaint.

He stated that as police, they are investigating a murder by assault that occurred at the Bangala Landing Site on March 2, 2024, by a community mob on a fellow member.

However, Lt. Col. Innocent Bakarije, the overall commander of UPDF operations in the Lakes, stated that they will correct any errors they have heard about UPDF operations, promising to work with the chairperson landing site committee within Lake Kyoga before any operation is conducted.

MPs made demands

On February 1, 2024, Members of Parliament urged the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industries, and Fisheries, Frank Tumwebaze, to expedite the implementation of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Act 2022, which aims to reduce the use of standard fishing gear.

In 2017, the President directed the UPDF to deploy on Ugandan lakes to combat illegal fishing practices and protect fish resources from depletion.

Apea, a woman MP, claimed that in the absence of regulation, the UPDF blackmails and tortures fishermen. Members of Parliament from the fishing community have consistently urged the UPDF to cease operations on all water bodies in Uganda.

In most cases, the LC5 chairpersons of the districts surrounding Lake Kyoga meet to address the issue, but nothing is done.

Lake Kyoga serves as a source of daily food and employment for the surrounding community. The lake also provides water for domestic use and produces raw materials such as papyrus for the business community.