Congolese abduct Ugandan fishermen
Aug 23, 2009
ARMED Congolese on Friday raided Rukwanzi Island on Lake Albert and abducted eight Ugandan fishermen, whom they accused of fishing in “their†waters. The incident, according to the Bugoma- Nsonga beach management committee chairman Barnabas Bamutura,
By Amlan Tumusiime and Henry Mukasa
ARMED Congolese on Friday raided Rukwanzi Island on Lake Albert and abducted eight Ugandan fishermen, whom they accused of fishing in “their†waters. The incident, according to the Bugoma- Nsonga beach management committee chairman Barnabas Bamutura, took place at 6:00am.
Uganda and Congo have been fighting over the ownership of the tiny Rukwanzi landing site. Both governments claim ownership of the landing site.
Bamutura, who is the overseer of the landing site located about 80km from Hoima town, yesterday said: “Our fishermen left Bugoma-Nsonga landing site to go fishing. I later learnt that armed Congolese with seven guns had abducted them and taken them to the Congo side of Rukwanzi, claiming they were fishing in their waters.â€
Bamutura told The New Vision on phone that the armed Congolese also seized a lot of property including canoes and fish from the Ugandans. Quoting witnesses, he said the raiders were dressed in military fatigues.
He identified the abducted men as Fred Bbaale, Alfred Tumusiime, Findi Bujanga, Ali Bed, Abdalah Lubega, Bright Okech, Musa Kibuuka, and Kalenzi Muwanga.
Kibuuka and Muwanga are employees of Ali Nsubuga, a Kampala-based businessman.
The Congolese have since asked Nsubuga to pay a ransom of sh3.4m to have his men released, Bamutura disclosed.
He said he had talked to the kidnappers on a phone of one of the captives and asked them not to torture the fishermen.
There has been no contact with the group since Saturday because the phone was switched off, Bamutura explained.
The Hoima district internal security officer, Yahaya Kakooza, yesterday said he was following up the matter.
The army spokesman in the region, Capt. Robert Kamara, described the incident as routine happenings.
“These are things that happen on the lake. It’s rivalry among fishermen on both sides,†Kamara commented.
International relations minister Henry Okello Oryem said he was not aware of the recent incident. He, however, promised that his ministry would interview local leaders including the RDC and intelligence officers to find out what happened.
“If it’s true the Ugandan fishermen were abducted, I will on Monday (today) summon the Congolese ambassador for an explanation,†Oryem said on phone.
He said the Government would seek an amicable solution to the conflict.
In 2007, a British geologist working for Heritage Oil compnay, Carl Nefdt, was shot dead by Congolese men at Rukwanzi. They claimed that his oil exploration team had crossed into Congolese waters.
In the same week, four UPDF soldiers were arrested by the Congolese army for allegedly crossing to the Rukwanzi side of Congo.
The two countries agreed to map out the island to determine where it falls.
In September 2008, the then UPDF spokesman, Maj. Paddy Ankunda, told a conference on natural resource governance that a geo-mapping exercise had established that the island was about 3km in Uganda.
Meanwhile, a delegation from Uganda last week met with leaders of the ADF/NALU rebel groups in the Congolese town of Kisangani to look for a peaceful end to the rebellion in the region.
The Ugandan team was led by the head of political affairs at the Ugandan embassy in Kinshasa, Steven Muhumuza, while the ADF delegation was headed by their chief of staff, Lukwago Mwana.
The meeting was facilitated by the United Nations Organisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC).
Both parties agreed to continue the dialogue and to formally constitute their negotiation teams.
ADF/NALU agreed to release 34 Ugandan combatants with their dependants and 31 Congolese soldiers by September 20.
The delegations and MONUC will jointly visit the Kamango (Congo) and Kilembe-Kasese (Uganda) proposed transit and reception centers for the rebels and their dependants.
ARMED Congolese on Friday raided Rukwanzi Island on Lake Albert and abducted eight Ugandan fishermen, whom they accused of fishing in “their†waters. The incident, according to the Bugoma- Nsonga beach management committee chairman Barnabas Bamutura, took place at 6:00am.
Uganda and Congo have been fighting over the ownership of the tiny Rukwanzi landing site. Both governments claim ownership of the landing site.
Bamutura, who is the overseer of the landing site located about 80km from Hoima town, yesterday said: “Our fishermen left Bugoma-Nsonga landing site to go fishing. I later learnt that armed Congolese with seven guns had abducted them and taken them to the Congo side of Rukwanzi, claiming they were fishing in their waters.â€
Bamutura told The New Vision on phone that the armed Congolese also seized a lot of property including canoes and fish from the Ugandans. Quoting witnesses, he said the raiders were dressed in military fatigues.
He identified the abducted men as Fred Bbaale, Alfred Tumusiime, Findi Bujanga, Ali Bed, Abdalah Lubega, Bright Okech, Musa Kibuuka, and Kalenzi Muwanga.
Kibuuka and Muwanga are employees of Ali Nsubuga, a Kampala-based businessman.
The Congolese have since asked Nsubuga to pay a ransom of sh3.4m to have his men released, Bamutura disclosed.
He said he had talked to the kidnappers on a phone of one of the captives and asked them not to torture the fishermen.
There has been no contact with the group since Saturday because the phone was switched off, Bamutura explained.
The Hoima district internal security officer, Yahaya Kakooza, yesterday said he was following up the matter.
The army spokesman in the region, Capt. Robert Kamara, described the incident as routine happenings.
“These are things that happen on the lake. It’s rivalry among fishermen on both sides,†Kamara commented.
International relations minister Henry Okello Oryem said he was not aware of the recent incident. He, however, promised that his ministry would interview local leaders including the RDC and intelligence officers to find out what happened.
“If it’s true the Ugandan fishermen were abducted, I will on Monday (today) summon the Congolese ambassador for an explanation,†Oryem said on phone.
He said the Government would seek an amicable solution to the conflict.
In 2007, a British geologist working for Heritage Oil compnay, Carl Nefdt, was shot dead by Congolese men at Rukwanzi. They claimed that his oil exploration team had crossed into Congolese waters.
In the same week, four UPDF soldiers were arrested by the Congolese army for allegedly crossing to the Rukwanzi side of Congo.
The two countries agreed to map out the island to determine where it falls.
In September 2008, the then UPDF spokesman, Maj. Paddy Ankunda, told a conference on natural resource governance that a geo-mapping exercise had established that the island was about 3km in Uganda.
Meanwhile, a delegation from Uganda last week met with leaders of the ADF/NALU rebel groups in the Congolese town of Kisangani to look for a peaceful end to the rebellion in the region.
The Ugandan team was led by the head of political affairs at the Ugandan embassy in Kinshasa, Steven Muhumuza, while the ADF delegation was headed by their chief of staff, Lukwago Mwana.
The meeting was facilitated by the United Nations Organisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC).
Both parties agreed to continue the dialogue and to formally constitute their negotiation teams.
ADF/NALU agreed to release 34 Ugandan combatants with their dependants and 31 Congolese soldiers by September 20.
The delegations and MONUC will jointly visit the Kamango (Congo) and Kilembe-Kasese (Uganda) proposed transit and reception centers for the rebels and their dependants.