Reports Leo Odera Omolo in Karungu-BAY Saturday 21/02/2009.
Tension between Kenya and Uganda over the disputed fishing Island has reaches a nasty stage with close to 1000 Kenyan fisherman and traders now fleeing the area in fears and for their own safety.
Following the reported deployment of more Uganda soldier complete in combat gear on the island, Kenyan fishermen, fish traders and kiosk owners have started streaming out of the island, which is located about 20 kilometers from the mainland at Sori, in Karungu-Bay where I am now.
About 200 of the fleeing Kenyans arrived here using different mode of transport to escape what they described as volatile and fluid situation which carried the danger of possible armed confrontations between the security forces of Kenya and Uganda .
The fleeing Kenyans are using home-made canoes, boats fitted with outboard engines and claims of massive looting of property, electronic gadgets, mobile, money and even dried fish by Ugandan soldiers. The are also seizing boat engines and fishing nets”. said one fisherman on arrival at Sori, Karungu Bay.
Other Kenyans fleeing the disputed Migingo Island have landed in Muhuru-Bay a small border town near the Kenya-Tanzania border, while a few have come shore in Nyandiwa, in Gwassi constituency, Suba district.
By Friday evening Uganda’s UPDF had brought more than 120 soldiers. They landed in speed boats and the military helicopter ferried others with their military arsenals.
.Uganda also brought onto the island about 40 anti – riot policemen in their full combat full combat gears for any eventuality. And this is what has frightened Kenyan fishermen and fish traders forcing some of them to leave the disputed island in huff.
Ugandan reinforcement arrived amid reports that the highly agitated fishermen had held Migori DC Julius Mutula and his security team hostage for the whole night. The DC had gone on the Island to negotiate with his Ugandan counterpart for the release the 12 Administration Policemen who were reported to have been detained by the Uganda military police, who have pitched camp on the Island for almost two years together with the officials of the Uganda Revenue Authority{URA}.The Kenyan policemen were sent to the Island on Wednesday morning. On arrival in a motor boat, the lowered the Ugandan national flag and hoisted the Kenyan one . The Uganda soldiers stationed on the island viewed this act as an aggression move to humiliate their country. They disarmed the Kenyan policemen and briefly detained them
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The whole saga began on Wednesday morning when Kenya sent 12 administration policemen were dispatched to Migingo island on what the government officials said was a fact finding mission.
But their Ugandan counterparts treated the move as an attempt by Kenya to takeover the rocky island after the visiting APS had forcefully lowered the Ugandan national flag and hoisted the Kenyan one instead.
This was the second incident in five months where the two government have different over the ownership of the Island . Last October, Uganda arrested 15 Kenyans on allegation of entering Uganda illegally. They t were taken into police custody and sent to Bugiri district to the Uganda side but were later freed after a bruising negotiation between the countries.
It should be remembered that the row over the ownership of a number fishing Islands in Lake Victoria started 1973 – 74 when Uganda despotic ruler Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada unilaterally seized a number of islands after the claming they belonged to his country.
Idi Amin had also I aid the claim on some parts of Western Kenya arguing that old map of East Africa was showing that Ugandans boundaries include a large chunks of Western Kenya and had extended up to Naivasha had extended from Lake Victoria to and Laikipia I n the west of the Rift Valley . Naivash is located about 45 miles west of the Kenyan capital Nairobi. Kenya,
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Migingo Island which is the scene of the current dispute is just one among several islands that initially used to belong to Kenya, but love since been claimed by Uganda.
Other islands that Kenya says used to belong to her include Lolwe, Wiyami, Remba and Sigulu. But Idi Amin seized Singulu Islland with its 5,000 Kenyan residents in 1976. These Kenya have since became naturalized Ugandan citizen. Their population has since doubled, but they were mainly comprised people from Bunyala from Wesren Province and people of Suba origins from Suba district in the greater Southern Nyanza.
But the current row over the ownership of Migigo started in 2000 when Uganda fisherman started settlement on the island due to high concentration of the fish species with high economic value as the Nile Perch and Tilapia in the area
And later due to insecurity Ugandan soldiers were sent to the small “Migingo”island which is only measuring only one acre of rocks. It indeed the home to more than 1,000 people who 70% are Kenyans. But there is a small number of Ugandans and Tanzanians resident fishermen in the area, forming a small 30% of the total population in the densely populated island with no proper sanitation.
Following the Wednesday incident Uganda increased the number of its military personnel from 8 to more than 120.
Meanwhile Kenya had a formed a four man inter-ministerial team led by Lands Minister James Orengo to address the issue and root cause of the conflict. The Kenyan and Ugandan team had jointly hired a consultant firm to carry out the survey on the island.
A report compiled by the company was last week debated by Members of the East African Legislative Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda.
The objectives of the meeting was to discuss the report present its deliberation to the East African community current chairman President Paul Kagame of Rwanda,and then determine the owner of the disputed island.
Prior to the Rwanda meeting ,Presidents Mwai Kibaki and Yoweri Kaguta Museveni were said to have been in constant contacts with the view to have the dispute resolved amicably and peacefully.
Members of Kenyan parliament from the affected regions led by dDick Omondi Anyanga (Nyatike) have asked the government to beef up security on Migindo to protect more than1000 Kenyans leaving on the disputed island they claim that Uganda soldiers were measuring the lives of the residents under her heavy military equipment.
The MPS claims the current invasion by Ugandans were effecting the fishing business in the area .The government ,they said must be ready to protect the citizens from possible attacks.
Kenyans fleeing the island said they show the Ugandan military helicopter flying low over the area had dropped unknown number of UPDF soldiers and policemen to the island.
The Kenyans further alleged that officials of the Uganda Revenue Authority{URA} have imposed heavy taxation on Kenyan fishermen and traders they also claimed of massive looting of foodstuff , soft drinks, mobile phones and other valuables from Kenyan fishermen, fish traders and kiosk owners. .
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Karungu bay where I am now is separated from the Island by an estimated 15 km on the mainland and situated on the eastern shoreline oft the Lake Victoria and only about 15 km to the disputed island., and I have met quite a number of refugees fleeing the ara who spoke of atrocities committed by the Ugandan military policemen including beating u0 of Kenyans.
Ends
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Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 05:54:52 -0800 [07:54:52 AM CST]
From: Leo Odera Omolo
Subject: DISPUTE OVER MIGINGO ISLAND OWNERSHIP ROW DEEPENS AS UGANDA SENT MORE SOLDIERS TO BEEF UP ITS SECURITY AS KENYANS FLED TRADERS TO THE MAINLAND
