Ruto Hold a Crisis Meeting With Museveni

President William Ruto will fly to Uganda on Tuesday, October 10, to hold a crisis meeting with his Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni. 

According to Ruto, the main agenda of the meeting will be to discuss security concerns at the border involving Kenyan fishermen and the Uganda’s military. 

While speaking to Homa Bay residents during his tour in Nyanza, Ruto assured that he would consult Museveni on how best to resolve the conflict before it spirals into a full-blown diplomatic crisis.

“You have talked about security. You have said that the fishermen are lamenting about theft and their lives being at risk. I am here to assure you that on Tuesday, I will pay a visit to Museveni and discuss how these things will work out,” Ruto pledged.

All we want is good neighbouring relations, and we want our security forces to work together. I will sort it out. No need to worry,” he added.

His remarks followed grievances raised by area residents who lamented that they were harassed and arrested while fishing in Lake Victoria. 

Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga added that the recent attacks hindered fishing activities at the lake, thus depleting the residents’ main source of income. 

According to Wanga, over 75 Kenyan fishermen were arrested while fishing at the lake in the past six months, with some of them going missing at the hands of the Ugandan police.

“A cause for concern is that our fishermen are attacked by Ugandans and they end up getting kidnapped in the country. The Ugandans also steal our fish. They also attack our policemen. That is something that needs to be sorted out. There are coast guards who are mandated to protect the fishermen by capturing them instead of protecting us from the fishermen. Something needs to be done,” she urged.

“I know with your word, they will stop this habit so that we can continue forward.”

Ruto, who launched the construction of the Mfangano Island Ring Road at Suba North Constituency also unveiled a bag of goodies for the county residents.

The head of state promised to allocate Ksh7 million to fund the renovation and expansion of Sena and Misori Primary School. He also assured the residents that he would address frequent electricity blackouts in the region. 

His statement was corroborated by Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga, who pointed out that the county and national government needed to work together to enhance service delivery.

“One thing I can agree with you is that it doesn’t matter how the people voted, what matters is that we all work together.

You all know that I was elected on an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket, but the Constitution requires us to work together to effectively provide services to Kenyans,” she reiterated.

The president will conclude his four-day development tour of the Nyanza region on Monday, having toured Siaya, Homa Bay, Kisumu, and Migori counties in line with Kenya Kwanza’s Bottom-up agenda.