Sierra Express Media
Saturday, March 02, 2013
Vice President Chief Alhaji Samuel Sam
Sumana has welcomed a six-man delegation from the African Union Mission
in Somalia (AMISOM) and the Somalia Police Force to Sierra Leone.
Welcoming the delegation, VP Sam Sumana
said he and President Koroma were very proud of their country being
chosen as a case study by the AMISOM and Somalia Police Force.
Sierra Leone, he said, shares a similar
history of conflict with Somalia, noting that after the ten year rebel
war in Sierra Leone, he felt so proud that Sierra Leoneans have put
behind them the past and have endeavoured to see that peace prevails in
the country.
“We are our brothers’ keepers;” he
emphasized, adding that the presence of the Sierra Leone Police Force in
Somalia is to enforce peace, law and order to their African brothers
and that the police force has demonstrated such gallantry.
Vice President Sumana also explained to
the delegation the challenges the country faced during the restructuring
process of the various organs of the police force after the civil
conflict, adding that despite the achievement gained in that process,
the force is still not complacent as they are still yearning to learn
and gain more knowledge in order to be at the apex in the international
arena.
He said Sierra Leone was aware of the
problems Somalia police force is facing and that, as Africans, we should
learn to put our country first before self. He advised that in order to
reach the peak where Sierra Leone has attained, they should ensure that
the three arms of government – legislature, executive and Judiciary,
remain independent and are free from political meddling.
In his statement, the Head of the
delegation, Deputy Police Commissioner of AMISOM, Benson Oyo-Nyeko
extended on behalf of the delegation and Somalis his thanks and
appreciation for the support rendered to them by Sierra Leone, being one
of the greatest contributors to the peace process in Somalia.
While explaining the purpose of their
visit, the deputy police commissioner said in 2007, Sierra Leone aided
Somalia with a crop of police officers that performed tremendously well
when the security apparatus in Somalia was in dare straight, stating
that they were here on experience learning and sharing in respect of
structural reforms, training, etc, activities that will enable them
participate in future international missions.
The Deputy Commissioner said with the
support of Sierra Leone and other African countries, security in Somalia
has improved significantly in the past five years.
He however noted that despite this
progress, his country is still faced with enormous human resource
capacity challenges and assured that whatever experience they will gain
during their tour would be put into best practice.
Also speaking at the occasion was the
Commissioner of the Somalia Police Force, Dr. Major General Sherif
Sekhuma Maye who vividly recalled the destruction the war caused to
their country, stating that the rationale for the study tour was to gain
knowledge on how to rebuild and reform their police force, restore law
and order, among other reasons.
The delegation was led by DIG Moigbeh. Also present was the Director of Public Relations, ASP Samura.