Fishermen in Sumba Island in Bunyala sub county have called for the government's intervention following a raid by Ugandan police on Wednesday morning.
The officers, apparently agreed by the fishermen's alleged decision to use illegal fishing gear while fishing on Ugandan waters took away fishing gears including boats.
The incident was confirmed by sub county Director of Fisheries Shadrach Kimani who blamed the same on absence of administration police in the island occupied by 350 people.
He said that his office will raise the matter with the provincial authorities to ensure that the affected fishermen get their five engines and a number of plates back.
“When you confiscate the boat engines that means the fishermen cannot carry out their daily fishing expedition, we are going to engage the provincial administration to assist in recovering the engines and nets,” he is told the Standard.
Area fishermen also want an erection of the Kenyan flag in the region to avoid such in the future.
Kimani said that such confiscations normally attract Sh40, 000 and Sh50, 000 fines before the fishermen can have their apparatus back, which is unaffordable to them.
The confiscation followed an initial faceoff after the officers attempted to arrest fishermen, which forced them to shoot in the air to scare away the locals who entirely depend on fishing.