By Kemo Cham
The high command of the Sierra Leone military has warned its men against pedaling rumor, equating it to incitement.
Chief of Defense Samuel Omar Williams said incitement was punishable by military regulations. He was addressing soldiers at the Wilberforce military barracks on Tuesday in response to ‘rumor’ within the army about financial misappropriation involving monies allegedly meant for peacekeepers who recently returned from Somalia as part of the African Union Mission (AMISOM).
The army chief told troops at the barracks situated in the west end of Freetown that the African Union, unlike the United Nations, doesn’t pay ‘Leave Allowance’ to peacekeepers, which is what the ‘rumor mongers’ alleged was been stifled by senior army officers.
Sierra Leone deployed 850 troops in Somalia in 2013. They returned last year after a rather acrimonious experience.
The United Nations, unlike the AU, pays leave allowances to peacekeepers. This way, the CDS explained, members of RSLAF who served in a separate mission in the northern Sudanese region of Darfur benefited from the payment. And this, he noted, may have led some of the men who served in Somalia to think that they were entitled to the same payment.
“UN peacekeeping mission runs more enhance system in terms of financial benefits than the African Union,” he said.
He described the rumor as “dangerous” with the potential to destabilize the peace of the nation.
CDS Williams also said he had written to the African Union Commission seeking a clarification on the matter and noted that they were yet to receive any reply to lay the rumor to rest.
The last three years of RSLAF has been marred by repeated allegations around payment of soldiers, mostly related to peacekeeping missions.
In 2013, the Defence Ministry was at pains to explain why it allegedly deducted US$200 from the remunerations of peacekeepers. Officials were later quoted saying this was meant as administrative cost and as had been agreed with the troops prior to their deployment.
On Tuesday CDS Williams said the UN and AU do not pay the military directly with cash. He said no body in the army was even a signatory to the account.
“No money paid for the contingent is handled by anyone in uniform. It is all sent to the bank directly,” the military chief said.
The military high command intends to meet with other troops in the coming weeks in the north and South of the country to address them on the same issue.
(C) Politico 02/12/15
