Kagadi fisherman killed on Lake Albert by suspected Congolese militia

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KAGADI - Suspected Congolese Militiamen on Wednesday attacked and killed a Ugandan fisherman on Lake Albert in Kagadi district. 

Aged 20 years, Ongyer and his four colleagues were attacked on Wednesday, at around 11pm, while fishing near Nguse landing site in Ndaiga sub-county.

Survivors narrated that the group were ambushed by five armed with automatic rifles who ordered them to surrender all their fishing gear to them.

When they resisted and tried to flee, the militiamen opened fire on them, shooting Ongyer in the back, killing him instantly. After the shooting, the suspected DRC militiamen fled on the Congo side without robbing anything from the fishermen.

Regina Ngamita, a fisherman, said the fishermen sounded an alarm after the incident and were rescued by fellow fishermen who were carrying out fishing activities on the lake.

“We are scared because we don’t know what's next, we don’t know the motive of the attackers, we are appealing to the district security committee to intervene,” said Charles Wabyona, a fisherman at Nguse landing site.

Wahabi Bogere, the Gombolola Internal Security Officer (GISO) for Ndaiga sub-county, said that the attackers are likely to be Bangiti militiamen from the DRC. He promised details after the investigation report is out.

Julius Hakiza, the Albertine region police spokesperson, said his team had not yet filed anything about the incident.

Attacks on Ugandan fishermen by suspected DRC militiamen have been rampant since 2018.

Previous incidents:

In March 2021, suspected Congolese Militiamen raided the Lake Albert waters and abducted 16 Ugandan Fishermen.

The militiamen also robbed four fishing boats, four boat engines and several sets of fishing nets from the fishermen. The attack then occurred near the Kaiso landing site in Mbegu parish, Kabaale sub-county, Hoima district.  

This was after all the four-armed Congolese militiamen put the fishermen at gunpoint before ordering them to surrender all the fishing gear in their possession. They later crossed with them to the DRC.  However, the fishermen were later released after their relatives paid a ransom.

In 2019, three Ugandan Fishermen were gunned down by suspected Congolese Militiamen on Lake Albert in the past.

The attack, by suspected Lendu militiamen, happened near Kaiso Landing site in Tonya parish, Buseruka sub-county. 

In 2018, seven Ugandan Fishermen were shot dead by Congolese Militiamen on Lake Albert. The incident happened near the Kaiso Landing site in Kabaale Sub-County, Hoima district. The deceased were all fishermen attached to the Kaiso landing site. 

The fishermen were then attacked and shot by DRC Militiamen as they went to search for the body of one of their colleagues, who was cut into pieces and dumped into the Lake by the same group.