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Marine Forces

The Marine service has remained stunted. Yet 20 percent of Uganda’s land area is under water. Lake Victoria is a large water body with high waves. The UDPF Marine Wing had 400 personnel, and eight riverine patrol craft, all of less than 100 tonnes, as of 2007. Its main mission is to patrol Lake Victoria and the Nile River. The Marine Forces have capacity to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Uganda on water. They are able to patrol Uganda’s territorial waters in order to detect any illegal activity, either in support of operations to detect illegal activity or in support of operations of civil authority.

The Uganda Marines has over the years diligently trained a Commando Display Team (CDT) with specialists in unarmed combat, helicopter and building abseils, high aerial slides and qualified supervisors for hi tech rock climbing simulators. The Recruitment and Training program was created in response to guidance provided by UPDF to establish programs dedicated to improving the “lethality, comfort and survivability” of the individual officers. The primary intent of the program is to focus attention on low-cost, low-visibility materiel solutions that can be rapidly fielded and that typically do not compete well against larger, high profile items in the budget.

The Uganda Marines have dedicated to ensuring improvements for the individual officers are identified and quickly transitioned into practical solutions. The Uganda Marines achieves this goal through an accelerated acquisition process that utilizes commercially available technologies to quickly provide lighter, more improved “marine items” to the officers. Items procured and fielded under the Uganda Marines seek to reduce the load, increase the survivability, enhance the safety and improve the lethality of the individua. Marine officers across the spectrum of operational environments use the systems developed, procured and fielded by the UPDF.

At least 65 Ugandan marine police officers completed a six-month training course conducted by North Korean experts July 2nd, 2013 as Uganda built up its marine capacity on the disputed Migingo Island in Lake Victoria. Uganda and Kenya both claim ownership of the island, which is currently under the control of Ugandan forces.

Ugandan Marines, as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia, have been tasked to patrol certain sections of the Somali coastline in order to ensure safe passage for flights coming into Mogadishu and to protect AMISOM troops on the ground. AMISOM also conducts limited maritime operations in close coordination with the on-going operations by international partners. On 3 December 2011, the AU Peace and Security Council authorized the training and deployment of vessel protection detachments on board supply vessels for AMISOM.

The VDP is a specialized military detachment of AMISOM designed to act as vessel security for AMISOM supply and will form a group of troops who may embark on the ships providing logistic support for AMISOM shipping en-route to Somali ports. AMISOM’s Vessel Protection Detachment has been actively training with the European Union’s Naval Force – Somalia (EU NAVFOR). The training is part of a comprehensive approach to improve AMISOM capabilities, in this case with enhanced and specialised drills to respond to a potential pirate attack. The troops are trained in pirates’ modus operandi, tactics, rules of engagement, unarmed combat and detention of suspects and practical drills carried out on AMISOM ships.

AMISOM Maritime is also used for special assignments by different countries that bring humanitarian from Nairobi. Turkey and UAE have been sending Aid to Somalia and AMISOM maritime would be assigned to provide security. Maritime Unit is also meant to ensure security at the Mogadishu Coastline, when the aircraft is landing and prevent any attacks emanating from the sea. AMISOM also provides security to the ships that wait to dock at the Mogadishu and Kismayo seaports.

Migingo Island is comprised of two narrow islands lying side-by-side in Lake Victoria and is inhabited by some 1,000 fishermen from fishing communities from several East Africa countries. It has been under the Ugandan flag since independence in 1962, without any controversy. However, Kenyans dominate the population and it was this large percentage on Kenyans on the island that tied together issues of occupancy, taxation, and sovereignty. Ugandan Marines provide security for the island.

A flashpoint occurred on 21 February 2009 when Ugandan authorities expelled some 400 Kenyan fishermen from the island for failure to pay $23 fishing and $70 annual boat licensing fees. Uganda fishing regulations require that all fish caught within Uganda territorial waters is sold to processors within Uganda. The Bugiri District government in Uganda has been responsible for collecting the fees. Kenyan and Ugandan governments eventually struck a deal that would see Kenyan fishermen operating in Migingo Island freely on the Ugandan waters.