Lt. Deo Kato says they resolved to close the landing site because some fishermen were still sneaking into the water during night hours in violation of the nationwide curfew.
The Island is home to 3000 people, mostly engaging in fishing activities. At the time of the fire, most of the fishermen are said to have gone for fishing. The deceased and injured have been taken to Mazinga Health Center III for postmortem and treatment respectively..
The landing site was closed last month by the Fisheries Protection Unit led by Nathan Abaho, the commander of the Unit on allegations that the dwellers engage in illegal fishing practices.
The contested land is located along the shoreline of Lake Victoria in Entebbe municipality. This is where fishermen who were initially evicted from Makusa and Lwamunyu landing sites located on an outlying island of Entebbe municipality had found refuge. It is now home to 3,500 people.
In October 2017, city businessman, Yusuf Galabuzi claimed ownership of the disputed land. His grandchildren obtained letters of administration for the same land from Kampala high court in January 2018.
