President Museveni addressing a campaign rally in Dokolo in 2024 where the voters and politicians raised concerns about the Fisheries Protection Unit
President Yoweri Museveni has ordered the end of the Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU) and landing site committees.
This comes after years of protests from fishing communities, legal challenges, and growing political pressure before the 2026 elections.
The order, given two days ago, is a big change after seven years of military-led fisheries enforcement on Uganda’s lakes.
The order, communicated by Col Chris Magezi, Acting Director of Defence Public Information, instructs the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, to dismantle the FPU and landing site committees nationwide.
New committees, composed of indigenous fishermen and investors, are expected to replace the dissolved structures within three months, under the oversight of Lt Gen Sam Okiding and Maj Gen Richard Otto. The dissolution follows months of high-level consultations.
In March 2024, during a campaign event in Dokolo, fishermen accused FPU soldiers of extortion, arbitrary arrests, and harassment along Lake Kyoga. Dokolo South MP Felix Okot Ogong raised the issue in Parliament, warning that military excesses were alienating communities.
Museveni acknowledged complaints but stressed that a proper handover was necessary, insisting the army was deployed to save a fishing industry on the verge of collapse.
In August 2025, Museveni convened a national consultative meeting at State Lodge, Jinja, with indigenous fishermen, boat owners’ associations, District Fisheries Officers, and Bakenye leadership.
He emphasised that indigenous fishermen should lead conservation efforts, supported by investors, while security forces focus mainly on border waters.
“Now that we have peace, let’s organise this sector and eventually return the army to the barracks,” Museveni said.
Parliamentarians repeatedly highlighted FPU abuses, including extortion, arbitrary arrests, and destruction of property. Legal analysts argued that many actions exceeded the authority granted under the 2022 Fisheries and Aquaculture Act, which establishes a civilian Fisheries Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Unit under statutory oversight.
“The moment enforcement turns into punishment without trial, it ceases to be lawful,” noted a Kampala-based lawyer. The FPU had become a prominent campaign issue ahead of the 2026 elections. Opposition candidates pledged to dismantle it.
FDC presidential candidate Nathan Nandala Mafabi said, “The FPU has terrorised our fishing communities for too long. If elected, I will dismantle it and replace it with law-based, civilian-led enforcement that respects the rights of fishers.”
Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (NUP/Bobi Wine) promised that: “We will dismantle the FPU and build enforcement systems rooted in statutory law, not military overreach. Our communities must not live in fear of soldiers while trying to make a living.”
UPC President Jimmy Akena, while on his tour at Apai Landing site, accused the government of subjecting fishing communities to decades of hardship.
He decried the violence against fishermen by members of the security forces deployed on the Lakes. The security, mainly from the UPDF, have been accused of beating, arresting, and confiscating their fishing gear on Lake Kyoga and other water bodies across the country.
“These lakes were created by God. Our grandparents lived on them, and we inherited them. Instead of benefiting, our people are being punished, and the importers of this illegal equipment are left free,” he said.
Akena emphasised his commitment to advocating for the rights of fishermen and marginalised groups, despite facing repercussions for his criticism of the government, including being removed from the presidential ballot.
“This must stop. Our communities deserve dignity, not harassment,” he insisted.
President Yoweri Museveni has moved decisively to address the issue, a pattern he has demonstrated historically by co-opting and implementing popular ideas initially proposed by his political opponents, such as the introduction of universal primary education in 1997 and the eventual abolition of the controversial graduated tax after Dr Kiiza Besigye had pledged to abolish it.
However, the reform on FPU does not create an enforcement vacuum. It is somehow aligning with the provisions of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Act, 2022, which, among other things, establishes a tiered fisheries co-management framework under the fisheries ministry.
Article 26 establishes fisheries co-management structures from the landing site to the national level, with links to the regional level. These include landing site fisheries management committees, sub-county committees, district committees, lake-wide committees, national committees, and regional fisheries management committees.
Alongside these structures, the Act establishes a civilian-led Fisheries Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Unit within the Directorate of Fisheries Resources. The unit carries out enforcement roles similar to those previously performed by the FPU.
Under the Act, the unit is staffed by officers appointed by the Public Service Commission. Its mandate includes monitoring and enforcement, with regulated powers of inspection, search, arrest, and hot pursuit. Where authorised, officers are permitted to carry and use firearms under prescribed conditions.
The latest directive signals a shift from military enforcement toward civilian oversight anchored in statute. For fishing communities, the change addresses long-standing demands for accountability, participation, and lawful management of Uganda’s fisheries.
While the FPU has been formally dissolved, the UPDF confirmed that its personnel have been reorganised as the 155 Marines Battalion under the Marines Brigade, commanded by Maj Joseph Ssebukeera.
Former FPU officer Lt Col Mercy Tukahirwa has been reassigned to the Office of the Senior Presidential Advisor on Defence and Security.
Years of inconsistent enforcement and politically timed interventions have left trust fragile. The true test will be whether Uganda’s lakes are now managed under law, community participation, and accountability — or whether enforcement will continue to ebb and flow with the political calendar.
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