Wetang’ula moves to ease Kenya-Uganda tension

The Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula has held talks with Ugandan Army Chief General Kainerugaba Muhoozi amid simmering tensions between the two countries.

Wetang’ula’s meeting with the Ugandan UPDF chief comes barely days after President Yoweri Museveni stirred war tensions after claiming the Indian Ocean belongs to Uganda.

However, the duo did not discuss the Indian Ocean claim but dwelt on the other emotive conflict pitting the two countries – Migingo island on lake victoria.

Wetang’ula revealed that they had discussed the importance of equitable sharing of the common resources of Lake Victoria.

Their discussions, he said, were aimed at safeguarding Lake Victoria’s ecosystem, environment and the resources the two countries share.

“Of concern to me also was the issue of harassment faced by Kenyan fishermen from Uganda’s lake security forces in Migingo, an issue acknowledged by Gen. Muhoozi; we emphasized the necessity for both countries to collaborate in developing a common security architecture for the lake,” said Wetang’ula in a brief statement on December 8, 2025.

Wetang’ula and Muhoozi met when the East Africa Community (EAC) Bureau of Speakers paid a courtesy call to the UPDF chief at his offices.

Migingo Island , a rocky island on Lake Victoria measuring roughly 2,000 square metres in size, has long been a flashpoint between Kenya and Uganda.

Despite its microscopic footprint, the island’s rich Nile perch fishing grounds and the opaque legacy of colonial boundary lines have turned it into a delicate diplomatic and security issue, periodically erupting into clashes that test relations between the two East African neighbours.

The dispute dates back to the early 2000s when the island, previously sparsely inhabited, drew a surge of fishermen after Nile perch stocks became lucrative for export markets.

By 2004 Uganda had deployed police and raised its flag on the island to assert authority and collect fishing tax, a move that alarmed Kenyan fishermen who argued the island and surrounding waters were historically and legally Kenyan.

The presence of both countries’ security personnel has fuelled confrontations and deepened mutual mistrust.