By Malcolm Rice
160 personnel of the Sierra Leone police who served under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in Juba Land State Somalia are presently struggling without pay after they returned home.
Police sources say none of the personnel will dare talk.
The team returned home in April 16th 2019 with hopes they will be able to take care of their family needs when they received their pay only to know that modalities weren’t put in place before their deployment.
A source intimated Specimen the Inspector General of Police, Richard Moigbeh said he contacted the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Gloria Tarawallie, who is responsible for peace keeping missions to know why the delay but was told there were no plans.
Police sources also alleged that the United Nations Peace Keeping Mission had informed the Sierra Leone Police that monies will be paid to an individual’s bank accounts of the serving personnel but that the Sierra Leone police insisted the UN Peace Keeping Mission pay through a one bank account.
“The UN Peace Keeping Mission doesn’t operate that way, and they don’t pay the money,” the source said.
The source also alleged the Sierra Leone Police signed a MOU with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) for the payment of 735 Euro a month a person.
AMISOM is an active, regional peacekeeping mission operated by the African Union with the approval of the United Nations. It was created by the African Union’s Peace and Security Council on 19th January 2007 with an initial six month mandate.
Personnel deployed in Somalia face one of Africa’s most volatile regions with unpredictable high level of violence and grave human rights abuse perpetrated by Al-Shabaab and war lords. These serving men and women are constantly faced with danger and probable loss of life.
One of the personnel the source disclosed had to be repatriated back home after he suffered a stroke.
After serving a year in Somalia these men and women are left to wonder when they will get their money and how they will pay their rent and take care of their families,
Specimen-news.com 