Kenyan security officials arrested a Ugandan coxswain they allege is linked to the fatal shooting of a Kenyan fisherman at Lake Victoria’s Sumba Island on the night of July 4.
The suspect, Mugoya Mohammed, 22, was arrested and interrogated. It it was established he was working as a coxswain with the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) Maninga Military Camp in Sigulu Island, Uganda.
The Kenya Coast Guard Services (KCGS) officers on normal patrol received information that there was a suspicious person at Sumba Island who was being beaten up by the public.
It was further established that Mohammed was one of the two UPDF officers alleged to have been involved in the shooting.
The officers managed to rescue him from irate members of the public. He was then escorted to Port Victoria police station.
Investigations revealed that on July 4 at around 5.30pm, Lawrence Anema Ababa, 21, and a Ugandan, Igoma Dalaus Rukungu, 22, cast off at Marenga Beach within Bunyala subcounty in a motorised fishing boat for fishing within Sumba Island waters.
On board were three other fishermen, Fred Majoni Pamba, Paul Owinyu 27, and another Ugandan identified only as Roman.
At around 7pm, they were intercepted by the UPDF patrol team of two officers aboard 40HP motorised boat.
Authorities said one of the officers shot dead Fred Majoni whose body was removed to Port Victoria hospital mortuary.
The whereabouts of Roman, the Ugandan, was not immediately established.
The suspect was arrested and on Thursday arraigned in a Busia court which allowed police to detain him until net week when he is expectedto be charged with murder.
There has been tension in the area over fishing disputes.
On Wednesday July 5, security teams from Kenya and Uganda met to resolve the impasse over fishing rights in Lake Victoria after local fishermen complained of harassment and intimidation from authorities in neighbouring country.
The two teams met in Busia to work jointly with a view to resolving the stalemate and improve relations.
Speaking to the press after the meeting at the Uganda One Stop Border Post, Busia Uganda Resident District Commissioner Michael Kubwika said the two countries have a duty to respect and promote peace and security along the border.
He added another shooting on Lake Victoria was also under investigation.
“The Ugandan authorities have already arrested the sergeant who carried out the shooting and the other who commanded the action,” he said.
They will be held in police custody until the investigations are complete.
