'Govt is silent on kidnapped victims'

UPDF|MILITIA|KIDNAP|FISHERMEN

Relatives of fishermen who were allegedly kidnapped by Congolese militia are protesting what they called the silence and the unseriousness of the government towards rescuing their loved ones. 

The militia in the wee hours of August 2 kidnapped 10 fishermen - David Mucunguzi, Innocent Twinomujuni, Shabul Nabaasa, Jackson Tumuhamye, Benjamin Tusasibwe, and Nicholas Sunday. 

The others arrested are Kenneth Kabasharira, Nicholas Tumwesigye, Patrick Bwiho, and Jackson Musinguzi. 

They were arrested at Rwenshama landing site, on the shores of Lake Edward, in Rukungiri district. 

Relatives of those who were kidnapped said militia demanded a ransom of sh4m for their release. However, later, their contacts went off.

Relatives said the government had not done anything towards rescuing their loved ones. Serapio Christmas, a 50-year-old resident of Mukoni village in Rubaya sub-county, Kabale district, said in July, his son, Twinomujuni, had gone fishing with Tumwesigye, a resident of Rwabareera village and Sunday, a resident of Nyabigore village, but that they were kidnapped.

Christmas and others concerned said their efforts to consult district security officers about the rescue update have not yielded anything positive. Edisa Tusasibwe, Tumwesigye's wife, said: "We tried as a group of affected families to seek a solution, but all we were told were stories that the government would follow up on the issue," she said. 

Tusasibwe's husband was the sole breadwinner for the family. Since his disappearance, she said she has struggled to sustain their four-member household. 

Mercy Friday, Sunday's wife, said a few days after receiving the sad news, she received a phone call from her husband who confirmed that they were confined in DR Congo. 

Friday said her husband asked her to immediately mobilise sh500,000 to send to the kidnappers for his release. 

Mustapha Aribariho, a fisherman at Rwenshama landing site, said the victims had gone into the lake with six boats when the kidnappers struck. 

He added that the relatives of the fishermen are living in fear of their safety, saying they are yet to receive any information from Ugandan security on the efforts being made to rescue the fishermen. 

Isaac Tugumisirize, a councillor in the area, said the Congolese militiamen kidnapped the Ugandan fishermen to revenge for the Congolese fishermen who are often arrested by Ugandan security in Lake Edward for violating the territorial boundaries. 

Capt. Favourite Rwogamu, the Uganda Marine Forces spokesperson, said: "I am only a marine force spokesperson and I am aware of the incident. We reported it to authorities and we are sure they are in talks with the DRC government, to have it resolved. For further information, consult the government spokesperson or Ministry of Internal Affairs." 

The Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesperson, Jacob Siminyu, said he could not comment on the matter. New Vision was advised to speak to government spokesperson Ofwono Opondo and Uganda's foreign affairs ministry. 

Opondo said he was not aware of any development about the issue. He referred the reporter to police spokesperson Fred Enanga. 

Efforts to get a comment from Enanga and the public relations officer in the foreign affairs ministry were futile since their known phones were off.