15 Kenyan fishermen arrested in Tanzania

Fifteen Kenyan fishermen from Remba Island in Suba North, Homa Bay County are detained at Sota Police Station in Tanzania after they were arrested in the waters of Lake Victoria over alleged fishing boundary trespass.

The fishermen were arrested by Tanzania security officials on Thursday when they were in their normal fishing expedition.

According to Homa Bay County Beach Management Units chairman (BMU) Edward Oremo, five boats belonging to the fishermen were also seized by the officers during the arrest.

Oremo says that the Tanzania authorities also confiscated their fishing gear and took away the fishermen’s catch worth millions of shillings during the arrest.

Mr. Oremo pointed out that they had dispatched a team to Tanzanian to find out how to free their colleagues.

He called upon the Kenyan government to find a lasting solution to end the persistent harassment of fishermen by Tanzanian authorities.