Charles Kuteesa, another boat owner at Busoke accuses the members of AFALU of destroying their boats without any explanation. He says that they need over Shillings 400, 000 to repair each of the vandalized boats.
Fishermen at Mpunge Sub County in Mukono district are up in arms against members of the Association
of Fishers and Lake Users of Uganda-AFALU
moving around their communities destroying their licensed boats.
Although Uganda People’s Défense Forces-UPDF has
been discouraging the operations of AFALU
without its supervision, residents accuse the group led by ‘Ssalongo’ Lubaga Ndowoozayo of donning
army jackets and moving
around destroying their boats.
So far 30 boats at Busoke and Kaaka landing sites have been
destroyed. The affected
boats have government number plates. One of the boat owners, Fred Kiwanuka says that while catching fish a
fortnight the group destroyed his
two boats.
//Cue in: “Now it has...
Cue out: …from the lake,”//
Charles Kuteesa, another boat owner at Busoke accuses the members of AFALU of destroying their
boats without any explanation. He says that they need over
Shillings 400, 000 to repair each of the vandalized boats.
//Cue in: “Ffe tebajjanagako...
Cue out: …netudayo eka,”//
Ndowoozayo, the accused squad leader, says that they have reportedly warned the fishermen
against docking boats at illegal landing sites in vain. He
says that they advised the fishermen to strictly dock
at Mbaale landing site.
URN has established that if the fishermen from Busoke and Kaaka are to start docking at the
proposed landing site, they will require another boat to cross back to their homes or rotate about 8km to return to their homes.
Ndowoozayo denies wearing military
uniforms, saying the
allegations are only intended to discourage them from carrying out with their supervisory role like
they have always done to the Fisheries
Protection Unit.
Efforts to take to the
supervisors of AFALU at Katosi to find out who authorizes the
operations have failed since the commandant was not at the camp.
Muzaham Kiyaga Mukalazi, the Assistant Fisheries Officer of Katosi Town Council has condemned the operations, which involve vandalizing licensed vessels.
