By Mabinty M. Kamara
Relatives of a recruit who died while on training have questioned the process of training of recruits by the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF).
Twenty-six year old Sulaiman Marrah, a journalist, died on training in Makeni. Sources said he collapsed while he and his co-trainees were engaged in a running exercise.
Reverend Daniel Mansaray, a relative and head of the burial preparation for the deceased, told Politico that even though they had accepted Marrah’s death as “God’s will”, they still had questions surrounding the circumstances of his death.
“We want to know the kind of environment in which the training is being done. We are concerned about the people that were around when he (Marrah) collapsed. We are concerned about the number of ambulances that were at the scene, because we were told he was taken to the barracks when he collapsed,” Mansaray said in an interview.
Rev Mansaray added that witnesses told the family that the late Marrah was just six yards away from the barracks when he collapsed.
“He wasn’t taken directly to the hospital. He was rushed into the barracks where he later passed away. His father was later invited to the barracks to sign some documents where they told him that his son is dead.”
Marrah was a senior staff of Hope FM, one of the leading radio stations in the northern city of Makeni, where he served until he enlisted into the army. He was training to be a cadet officer.
His death on Monday January 20 shocked many people who knew him, particularly his close friends and relatives.
Reports suggested that they were on a jogging exercise from Station Road to Tekoh Road in Makeni when he collapsed and later died.
A spokesman for the RSLAF did not respond to a request from Politico for a comment.
We understand that representative of RSLAF visited the family of the deceased and donated Le 500, 000 and a bag of rice as a way of sympathizing with them.
Sources told Politico that the military had also offered to bury the remains of Marrah at Tekoh Barracks, even though he is not a military officer.
Beyond the family’s concerns, Marrah’s death raises questions about the thoroughness of the medical evaluation involved with RSLAF’s recruitment process.
Before any recruitment, prospective recruits are expected to undergo medical checkups.
Yet this is not the first time RSLAF is missing out on key medical issues. Last year at least four pregnant recruits were discovered in training, weeks after they had been part of the process. They were later dropped, according to the army itself.
Marrah’s death comes hours after the reported death of another journalist in Makeni, Ibrahim Bundu, who worked with Radio Mankeneh. He is reported to have died due to natural circumstances.
Marrah is expected to be buried on Monday whiles Bundu will be buried on Sunday.
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