By Lemuella Tarawallie
The Sierra Leone Commission for Small Arms and Ammunition (SLeCAA) yesterday destroyed 5,000 unserviceable weapons at the Murray Town Barracks in Freetown.
The aim was to reduce stockpile of obsolete weapons, to mitigate illicit trade in state-own weapons, and to also comply with regional and international regulations. The Chairperson of the SLeCAA Advisory Committee, Moses Bayemen, stated that the destruction of the 5,000 unserviceable weapons as well as 26 exhibits of arms and assorted ammunition received by SLeCAA from the Judiciary of Sierra Leone was to “ensure the safety and security of our communities”. He noted that the initiative was to deny them big re-circulation and falling into the wrong hands and consequently leading to organised crime. He noted that the weapons, “good or unserviceable, and abandoned carelessly”, seriously threatened the lives and well being of “our people and communities”.
A representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Madam Elizabeth Betty Turay, said: “what we are witnessing today is a testament of the Commission’s quest to contribute meaningfully to peace, security, and the development of Sierra Leone”. She stated that the Ministry of Internal Affairs was proud of the Commissioner and his team.
The Commissioner of SLeCAA, Christian Fahim Marray in his statement, stated that the goal of the demolition was to destroy all the obsolete and unserviceable weapons in order to ensure an effective serviceable management of small arms and light weapons in Sierra Leone.
He disclosed that after the symbolic destruction of unserviceable weapons, the actual destruction of unserviceable weapons would be conducted in five disposal sites countrywide.
The German Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Jens Kraus-Massé, thanked SLeCAA for the occasion, stating that he was very proud that his nation, Germany, could support Sierra Leone in this endeavour.