The FPU, which is majorly made up of Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) soldiers, was deployed in 2017 to put an end to illegal fishing practices on the country’s lakes.
Alhajji Nadduli, a former Minister Without Portfolio, acknowledged that President Museveni’s original plan would have worked if it had cleaved to the economic principle of promoting the standard of living of Ugandans.
However, he claimed that FPU operations have become the exact opposite.
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Unending Complaints
There are daily reports from fishermen and local leaders accusing the FPU of being embroiled in extortion, excessive force, and illegal fishing activities.
Fishermen from Nakasongola’s landing sites, especially Kasenyi landing site, have also accused the FPU of brutality and corruption, claiming that some soldiers take bribes to overlook illegal fishing activities while arresting fishermen who are not ready to pony up any baksheesh.
The fishermen themselves, Alhajji Nadduli argues, should enforce fishing regulations alongside the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.
He warned that if FPU’s is not corralled towards best practice or removed from where it operates, its activities could hurt the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM)’s standing among fishing communities, who were once loyal supporters.
This would spell trouble for President Museveni in the next presidential elections.
He said this has already happened, in the 2021 presidential elections in Nakasongola district, the opposition candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, scared up 33% of the votes compared to Museveni’s 65%, partly due to dissatisfaction with FPU operations.
This is a grave concern, he noted, even though President Museveni emerged as the overall winner of that presidential election.
Alhajji Nadduli says the government may do well to congratulate itself on the restoration of fish stocks in the lakes. However, if this self-congratulation comes with the loss of lives, injuries, and livelihoods that have gone belly up, it is meaningless.