Concord Times (Freetown)
Mohamed Massaquoi and Victoria Saffa
2 June 2011
Freetown — Some 235 (two hundred and thirty five) ex-military officers often referred to as ‘chronically ill and mentally imbalance’, who suffered various degrees of injuries during the decide-long civil conflict in the country, yesterday testified at a tribunal set up by the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone (HRC-SL) at the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) conference hall in Freetown.
The ex-officers complained that they were being marginalized and deprived of their terminal benefits by some senior members of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF), and that they were taking up the matter with the Human Rights Commission for it to be properly investigated.
Chairperson of the HRC-SL, Edward Sam, said the hearing was significant not only to the commission but to the people of Sierra Leone, since it was the first public inquiry organized on issues dealing with alleged human rights violations.
In his testimony, one of the affected ex-soldiers, John Bockarie, told the tribunal that he was recruited into the RSLAF in 1991 and discharged in 2008, adding that most often information regarding the payment of their benefits was not properly disseminated to their respective battalions.
Bockarie noted that during this troubled period, senior officers detailed to look into their plights and work towards addressing them had completely shirked their responsibility, thus warranting them to take the matter to the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Human Rights Commission for proper adjudication.
Another affected officer, Sallieu Samura – who said he joined the military in 1991 – told the inquiry that he got his injuries during the war and was asked to go for medical examination conducted by a British doctor in which he was declared chronically ill.
He said he was declared 50 percent disabled and therefore recommended for his services to be terminated from the military.
“I was only given three million and some thousand leones; I am not happy with the amount because I was expecting full terminal benefits,” he said.
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