A fisherman was killed on Sunday in a fight among fishermen near Lake Victoria's Misori beach in Gembe, Homa-Bay County.
Witnesses and police said the groups fought over the ownership of fishing grounds.
Fredrick Ooko, 39, of Gode Ariyo beach, is reported to have drowned during the confrontation between fishermen from his beach and their colleagues from Misori Beach Management Unit (BMU).
They were fighting over a fish breeding area, police said.
Gode Ariyo BMU chairperson Daniel Ombuor said a group of Misori fishermen accused their colleagues of fishing in an area they had preserved for breeding of fingerlings.
Ombuor said a group of Misori beach fishermen had agreed with their colleagues from Gode Ariyo beach to access the fish breeding zone after they were paid money.
However, another group from Misori beach was against the agreement.
The Misori beach group, opposed to the agreement, then stormed the breeding area where their Gode Ariyo counterparts were fishing and attacked them.
This prompted a fight that turned tragic.
Ooko drowned during the fight while other colleagues managed to escape with their fishing boat.
Officials said they had mobilised officers from
the Kenya Coast Guard Service to help in the retrieval operation.
Police who visited the scene said they are investigating a possible murder.
The team said they were focused on recovering the body before they took statements from the witnesses and other parties concerned.
The investigators
are relying on fishing unions that operate in the area for information and
crime management at large.
This is
after it emerged that the rate of piracy and other forms of crime on the lake is
higher.
A team
of detectives is handling the matter, police said.
