Kenyans living on the disputed Island of Migingo now want the next government to prioritise their safety when they begin work.
They urged President-elect William Ruto to put up efforts to restore peace between them and the Ugandan administration.
The call comes in the wake of Ruto being declared the winner in the 2022 general election by IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati.
The residents who are majorly fishermen say they look forward to seeing the next government broadly engage the authorities in the neighboring state in fruitful bilateral talks to resolve the age-old dispute involving fishing in Lake Victoria.
Speaking from the Island that hosts more than 500 residents, Peter Nyawanda, a fisherman, said that they were disappointed that the outgoing government neglected them.
“There has been little peace for us here since Ugandan security men started harassing us daily, robbing us of our fish and fishing gears, besides subjecting us to arbitrary arrests,” Nyawanda said.
He added that despite the presence of Kenyan security personnel stationed permanently on the Island, it is the Ugandan officers who appeared to be in control and putting their lives in danger.
This, he claimed, was partly due to the fact that the military police the Ugandan government deployed on the Island were better equipped than the Kenya police.
Chairman of the Migingo Beach Management Unit Carilus Otieno, complained of the unending harassment and theft of fish, fishing gears and money by the Ugandan security officers.
“We just got tired of complaining because not much changed,” he said.
He said many fishermen have been locked-up in foreign cells, lost huge cash in fines and others even died after being beaten and seriously injured.
The residents said they are yearning for a day when the next government will resolve the Migingo dispute once and for all.
They noted that the claims by Uganda that they were tress passing during their fishing expeditions were not true.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)
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