By Patson Baraire

A Kenyan fish trader was on Tuesday night shot dead at Ishasha border in Kanungu district between Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo. Another woman trader was also seriously injured.

The District Security Committee Chairman Canon Ben Rullonga confirmed the the incident and identified the dead Kenyan as Charles Ocheing from Kisumu in Kenya while the injured woman is identified as Catherine Ocheing also a Kenyan citizen.

According to security reports, the two were traveling on a motorcycle from the Congolese border town of Ishasha at around 9.00 pm when they were ambushed by suspected Congolese Army who guard the border line who shot at them.

They were allegedly signaled to stop but the boda boda rider who escaped unhurt refused to stop and rode on. They were shot at about 100 meters away from the bridge which marks the common border line.

The woman who was shot in the stomach was rushed to Nyakibale Mission Hospital about 60km away where she is undergoing treatment.

Rullonga, the Resident District Commissioner Kanungu said that the incident was unfortunate but warned traders to always use day time to cross from either said. "This is an unfortunate incident and we shall help all the concerned to investigate it," He said.

The two were part of a bigger group of business men and women who crossed into Congo with fish on Monday and they are believed to have carried a lot of money with them at the time of the ambush but the amount in cash they had at the time could not be established.

The lucrative fish trade across the border has been attracting business people from Kampala, Masaka and recently the Kenyan fish traders joined them.

Last year a Uganda trailer driver was shot dead inside Congo while returning from a business trip from Congolese town of Goma.

The situation in Congo is currently volatile as the Congolese Army battle the rebels under Gen. Bosco Ntaganda in the area.

Efforts to get a comment from Congolese officials who man the border point at Ishasha were fruitless as their known phones were switched off.