President Museveni has deployed The Special Forces Command (SFC), a specialized component of the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) tasked with carrying out specialized missions to guard Migingo Island on Lake Victoria which has been previously guarded by Uganda Police Marines.
Police Spokesperson AIGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi says the changes in deployment comes after fishermen accused the police marines of torture and harassment complaints.
The directive reportedly came from President Yoweri Museveni following allegations of corruption in the Marine Police
““Recently there was a directive that the Special Forces Command should provide general security at the major water bodies through the country. Subsequently, we (police) will provide a supportive role to them (SFC) to see it is achieved effectively,” said Kaweesi.
The island has been at the centre of a dispute between Kenya and Uganda with both countries claiming ownership.
Migingo Island is a tiny island in Lake Victoria, about half the size of a football pitch. It’s also one of the last places where numbers of Nile perch remain high; overfishing and pollution have led to dwindling stocks in the rest of the lake. This is one of the reasons why Uganda and Kenya continue to battle over its ownership.
The row reached a boiling point in 2008 after Kenyan fishermen were barred from fishing in the waters. In 2013, a lobby group wrote to the International Criminal Court requesting for investigations into claims that Uganda forces are violating the rights of the people living on the Island that has carried on into the new year.
The African Human Rights Bureau through its executive director Dan Alila requested ICC to invoke its powers to protect the Kenyan residents living and fishing around Migingo and Ugingo Islands “from Ugandan Forces aggression.”
