Siaya fishermen on Sunday asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to gazette the Lake Victoria boundary to end frequent friction with the Uganda authority.
The fishermen led by their chairman Obwanda Osunga said the only solution to address constant harassment by Uganda police is by gazetting the 2012 Lake Victoria boundary survey.
Osunga said they have recorded at least 12 islands that are currently being contested between Kenya and Uganda.
The chairman revealed that even the colonial boundary (1920 archives) states that the islands, Mageta, Wayasi, Hama, Migingo, and Lolwe among seven others belong to Kenya and not Uganda.
“To date, these islands are inhabited and owned by indigenous Kenyans,” stated the fishermen in a petition they want the President to act upon.
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The fishermen also want the establishment of a marine patrol base at Mageta, Mfangano and Migingo islands to enhance security in the lake.
Osunga said fishermen have suffered in the hands of Ugandan authorities due to laxity by the Kenyan government.
The chairman expressed hopes that the handshake between Raila and Uhuru would help turn around their concerns.
“Many fishermen have been arrested, tortured and detained in Ugandan prisons for allegedly trespassing into Ugandan waters. We are therefore appealing to the President to talk to his Ugandan counterpart President Yoweri Museveni to stop the harassment of Kenyan fishermen,” they said.
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