Agency mulls NTSA-type unit to police Lake Victoria

The Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) is mulling over a plan to set up a special unit that will enforce laws on Lake Victoria.

Mr Jeremiah Onyango, the Western Kenya regional maritime inspector, said a department on lakes had been conceived following laxity of regular police to arrest fishermen, commuters and other lake users who break the law.

The proposed unit is expected to guarantee safety on the lake by ensuring that all boats are registered, commuters have life jackets, and fishermen use the correct fishing tools among other security practices.

“To restore sanity in the waters and protect the natural resource, the authority is looking into ways of forming an independent body to help in the enforcement of transport and safety regulations just as the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) is in the road sector,” Mr Onyango said.

“This is something that we are still discussing within our inner circle and I may not share it in detail yet,” he added.

The consideration comes in the wake of many deaths recorded in the fresh waters.

In the last four month alone, more than 15 people have died, among them nine musicians of a band in Siaya, who perished after an overloaded fishing boat they were riding in capsized a few minutes after leaving Lihunda beach for Ndenda Island.

In an interview with the Business Daily in his office, Mr Onyango accused lake patrol police of failing to arrest sailors who use unseaworthy boats, overload their vessels and travel without live jackets, which he said were majorly to blame for accidents.

He said lake users use old vessels and overload them in order to take fewer trips to the islands and back. But in the event of them trying to reduce the cost, they end up causing deaths.

“The nine musicians who died in June decided to use an old fishing boat which was sipping in water to travel and carry their luggage. There was no funny weather, the boat just submerge because of being overloaded with crates of soda, beer and musical equipment,” he said.

He said the police laxity had also seen many vehicles washed at the shores of the freshwater against environmental regulations.

“Why should law enforcers assume an overloaded boat that may cost lives? Old boats are often used without being serviced until they cause deaths and then they are abandoned yet the culprits are not arrested,” said Mr Onyango.

“You will find big lorries being washed at the shores of the lake and an officer eating fish at the same shore, ignoring the fact that it’s against the law and that oil spillage is hazardous for the environment.”

Nyanza deputy regional police commander Kalicha Roba, however, said the number of officers patrolling the waters are few compared to the number of beaches and vastness of the lake.

He said there was need for relevant institutions and community Beach Management Units (BMUs) to coordinate with them, which is currently lacking.

“We have mainland and island officers across the five counties of Kisumu, Busia, Siaya, Migori and Homa Bay. But they are not sufficient. Police boats are also not enough,” said Mr Roba. The authority is now working with the five counties bordering the lake in employing and training water martials to educate the locals on the importance of complying with the law.

Mr Onyango said the martials, who will be paid by the counties, will work hand in hand with the BMUs that exist under an Act of Parliament.

“We have been relying on the BMUs which to some extent have also failed to curb the insanity. If we must have safe water transport and proper fishing, there must be more people to oversee because the beaches are so many,” said Mr Onyango.

“We may open offices along the major beaches to ensure that the lake is used in a safe manner both for transport and fishing,” he added.

The KMA, although is not mandated to issue life jackets, has been forced to donate on instances where lives are endangered especially to school children who have to use the lake every morning and evening.