The boat ambulance was provided to largely evacuate patients from the Islands of Kisiima I, Kisiima II, Rwabitooke and other small islands scattered along parts of Lake Victoria in Jinja district. The boat will also support rescue operations of fishermen and other water transport users in Lake Victoria and River Nile respectively.
The dealers normally store the illegal fishing nets in their homes and sell them off to clients, most of whom in the end act as their agents within the remote landing sites across different lakes within the country.
The fishermen pinned the duo during a public meeting convened by the State Minister in charge of the Office of the Vice President, Diana Mutasingwa following a public outcry on bribery.
The fishermen told URN on Thursday that some fishermen had resorted to fish poisoning so as to harvest more yet in the long run threatening the sustainability of the fisheries sector to compete on the global market.
Gen. Kyanda explained that AFALU is not accountable to anyone and their excesses are blamed on the Fisheries Protection Unit personnel who in most cases not aware of their unscrupulous operations.
Patrick Ochieng, a resident of Singila village accused some FPU officers of conniving with their civilian counterparts to confiscate their fishing nets and charge them between 200,000 and 300,000 to recover them.
This morning, residents led by Buvuma District Speaker, Buvuma town council LC III chairperson and councilors resolved to block the army from closing the landing site, which is home to more than 3000 people.
Maj. Joseph Ssebukera, the Commandant of the UPDF Fisheries Protection Unit on Eastern Lake Victoria, says the impounded nets carry electric current, which peels off fish skin causing it to die and float on the lake.
The soldiers reportedly pulled down four days and confiscated two boats. Patrick Kawuka, the LC I Chairperson of Bugulu Village and one of the boat owners explains that the soldiers claimed that his boat was once involved in the transportation of immature fish.
