Twelve men were charged with engaging in illegal fishing in Lake Naivasha contrary to the provisions of Fisheries Management and Development Act 2016.
The accused appeared before Naivasha Senior Principal Magistrate Joseph Karanja Monday, July 19.
According to court documents seen by K24 Digital, the 12 were arrested near Kamere beach in Lake Naivasha on Friday afternoon by officers from Kenya Coast Guards on a patrol mission, while engaging in illegal fishing.
They were jointly charged with three counts of operating unlicensed fishing vessels, using outlawed fishing gears and engaging in fishing activities without a license.
According to the prosecution, the suspect were also nabbed with illegal fishing nets and unlicensed vessels whose photographs were presented before the court as part of exhibits.
They all denied the three counts and were released on a Ksh10, 000 cash bail each pending the hearing of their case. The case will be mentioned on July 21.
According to the records from the Fisheries department, the deployment of Kenya Coast Guards officers to protect Lake Naivasha has seen cases of illegal fishing activities reduced significantly in the last three months due to regular patrols.
