RSLAF MORTGAGES NATIONAL SECURITY
…Auctions Barracks to Lebanese Mafia, Demolishes Citizens Homes
Mjr. Gen. Amara I. Bangura-CDS Hassan Mroue-Shalimar CEO
By Ibrahim Alusine Kamara (Kamalo)
The primary functions of military units, the world over, are defense of nations’ sovereignty and territorial integrity. Further away than combat against foreign aggression, the military also performs internal security, disaster relief, and humanitarian aid, participate in multinational peacekeeping activities, support civil power, enforces laws, provide logistical and administrative support, and participate in economic and diplomatic efforts.
While the specific functions of military may vary according to countries’ constitutions, the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) are constitutionally charged with the responsibility to handle a range of public safety and civil tasks. However, personnel of RSLAF, highly trusted by Sierra Leoneans for its no nonsense approach, appear to be shifting from their raison d’être in terms of protecting national assets.
By the look of things, Sierra Leone is being stripped bare piece by piece—land by land or asset by asset— and the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) government and the very institutions sworn with an oath of office to protect the nation would be pitched in a scandal of “selling the country’s soul” to foreign cartels.
At the heart of this seemingly growing scandal is Shalimar, allegedly a Lebanese business empire, accused of steadily transforming itself into the new colonial overlord, tightening its grip not just over Sierra Leone’s economy but its land.
The latest outrage in which Shalimar is highly believed to be involved is the buying of strategic military barracks in Goderich and Wellington. This act has been flagged as a betrayal in the national security sector. Soldiers, once seen as guardians of state sovereignty, have effectively mortgaged to a foreign mafia the very grounds where they lived and trained to defend the nation— occurrence many commentators view as a treasonous act hiding under the cloak of “business deals.”
In a country that claims to operate under free-market principles, Shalimar is no stranger to controversy, as he enjoys monopoly over the importation of TVS motorbikes and kekehs, strangling local competition. His empire is riddled with allegations of tax evasion, manipulation of NASSIT payments, and exploitation of Sierra Leonean workers. Yet instead of bringing him to book to defend his name and business image, Shalimar’s not only being left off the hook, but appears to be hugely rewarded— now surprisingly with lands belonging to the nation’s military lands, as well as fields owned by the Sierra Leone Police, and even community spaces.
Many witnesses of the bizarre state of affairs think Shalimar has become the new Jamil Sahid that once existed in Sierra Leone—untouchable, unstoppable—and largely above the law.
What makes this scandal even more disgusting is allegedly the active role of some military personnel themselves. Concerned Sierra Leoneans say having quietly handed over barracks to foreign mafia, the guns of RSLAF appear to have now been turned not against external aggressors, but on its own people. Soldiers have gone on the rampage, demolishing private homes in Kingtom and displacing a considerable number1 of families who have lived there for decades. More fearful is the threat to bulldoze the Services School in Goderich.
“A military that should defend the people is now evicting them, all to pave way for shady land deals that enrich the few and enslave the many!” empaths remarked as they saw their counterparts becoming homeless.
“Where is the government in all of this?” they queried.
President Bio’s administration has stood by, not just as a passive observer, but as a willing partner in this selling spree. From police fields in Kissy sold off to Indian businessmen, to community playgrounds handed to politically connected elites, the SLPP regime has turned land grabbing into state policy. The state is being carved up like a carcass at the mercy of vultures, with the people left hungry and helpless.
This is more than corruption—it’s a calculated auctioning of the nation’s sovereignty— Sierra Leone is being recolonized, not by European powers, but by a new class of foreign mafias shielded by corrupt politicians and compromised generals.
The questions Sierra Leoneans must now ask are clear: Who truly owns this country? Who are the military defending — the people or the cartels? How long will citizens watch silently as their homes, schools, and future are sold to the highest bidders?
Remember, when the betrayal is total, the consequences will be catastrophic!
With efforts by this medium to get Shalimar’s comments on the issues failed, more on further heinous allegations against him in subsequent editions.