Media Operations Officer, Army Headquarters, Cockerill, Major Yayah Brima, Esq. has confirmed to Sierraeye Magazine that the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Lieutenant-General Amara Idara Bangura has never intended to demolish the premises of Services Secondary School located at Juba Barracks in Freetown.
“The CDS has never intended to demolish the premises occupied by the school, nor has he planned to assign any portion of the school land to any private business company as misrepresented,” he said.
He alleged that the matter has been deliberately twisted by certain persons who want to protect their personal interests, noting that CDS intention has been the protection of Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces RSLAF’s estates against land grabbers and illegal occupants.
“The main issue regarding RSLAF’s estates has been the continued encroachment of military land by some rogue individuals. Over the years, one of the seriously affected areas where military lands have been adversely possessed has been Juba Barracks,” he said.
He said that Juba Barracks is one of the oldest military garrisons established by RSLAF during the colonial era, and that the actual land space owned by Juba Barracks and Services Secondary was surveyed as over 50 acres of land, covering both the left axis and the right axis of the Lumley-Goderich Highway.
According to him, more than 30 acres of land at Juba Barracks have been illegally occupied or encroached by individuals – some being old pupils of Services Secondary School.
He said the current land space of Juba Barracks and Services Secondary as surveyed is about 23 acres of land, emphasizing that there are still persistent threats by squatters and land grabbers to acquire more of the remaining land if RSLAF does secure its property.
“These individuals have gone to the extent of putting up makeshift structures despite several warnings by the RSLAF hierarchy. These makeshifts have been deliberately erected within the School land space by those purporting to secure the interests of the School without any recourse for permission from the CDS, who is the Proprietor of the School and Chairman of the Board of Governors placed in charge of the administration of the School,” he said.
In order to halt these continued threats of encroachment, he said the CDS has recently directed that the makeshifts constructed by the squatters and soldiers be demolished in order to facelift the ugly sight of the Barracks perimeters or entrances.
“The CDS has never directed that the premises occupied by Services Secondary School be demolished. There is no intention to put down any premises occupied by the school. It is important for the public to know that RSLAF is the Proprietor of the School and the CDS is the Chairman of the governing Board of all Services Schools within our Barracks,” he said.
He noted that some old pupils of the school have grabbed RSLAF’s land space within Juba Barracks and planned to make it their personal property in broad daylight, adding that the leadership of RSLAF would no longer sit by and allow such grabbing to continue.
“It must always be noted that the relationship between RSLAF and Services Secondary is longstanding and inseparable. The school was primarily established by the Armed Forces on 22nd November, 1961 in order to groom future military leaders. Since then, the school has produced and has still continued to produce many of such leaders. One of the recent products of the school is the newly-promoted Major-General Sahr David Thomas Ngaujah, who currently serves as the Chief of General Staff (CGS),” he said.
Credit: SierraEye Magazine
