The history of peace in Sierra Leone cannot complete without the mention of the contribution of Kenya, President Julius Maada Bio has said as he begins a five-day state visit to the East African nation.
Bio is in Kenya as part of what the presidency says is efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Reports by the Kenyan presidency indicate that the Sierra Leonean presidential delegation arrived in Nairobi on Saturday night, and it was received at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by Kenyan Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo.
A statement from the presidency in Freetown says Bio is scheduled to engage in high level bilateral meetings, observe the signing of bilateral agreements between Sierra Leone and Kenya and meet with members of the private sector.
Bio is scheduled to meet his host President Uhuru Kenyatta today, Monday May 30th at State House in Nairobi. He will also be the Chief Guest at this year’s Madaraka Day national celebrations at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi City County. Madaraka Day commemorates Kenya’s attainment of self-rule every June 1st.
Bio’s visit coincides with the commemoration of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers on Sunday, May 29th, and the Sierra Leonean leader participated in an event remembering the contributions of peacekeepers to peace around the world.
Sierra Leone is one of the countries that have benefitted from this global peace efforts, with 39 countries having contributed troops to help end its eleven years [1991-2002] civil war.
Kenya is one of 15 African Union Member States that contributed troops to the then United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) between 1999 and 2006.
The Kenyan troops were deployed under the KENBATT contingents. Five soldiers from the KENBATT 5 battalion lost their lives in the war. President Bio read all their names at the event in Nairobi, stating that the history of peace in Sierra Leone could not be incomplete without prominent mention of their “valour and selfless service.”
A Kenyan army officer, Lt. General Daniel Ishmael Opande, served as Commander of UNAMSIL between 2000 and 2003, before he was redeployed to neighboring Liberia where he also served as force commander of the UN Mission (UNMIL) from 2003 to 2004. Lieutenant-General (Rtd) Opande presented a memoir of his experience in Sierra Leone to President Bio at the ceremony organized by the Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) at the International Peace Support Training Centre in Embakasi, Nairobi.
President Bio paid tribute to Lt. General Opande and fellow Kenyans, as well as all foreign nationals who partook in efforts to bring peace to Sierra Leone.
“I am particularly pleased, as President of Sierra Leone, to be able to travel to Kenya and formally say “thank you” to the commanders, officers, men and women of KENBATT contingents deployed to Sierra Leone,” Bio said in the presence of officers and men and women of the Kenyan Defence Forces, as well as UN officials in Nairobi.
He added: “To the families and comrades of the fallen, to the injured and those who were deeply scarred by their service to our nation, know today that your sacrifices did not go in vain. If Sierra Leone has today transitioned out of the UN Peacebuilding framework and become the fourth most peaceful democracy in Africa, it is because of the contributions and immense sacrifices of the brave officers, men and women of the Kenya Defence Forces.”
Sierra Leonean diplomat, Zainab Hawa Bangura, who is the Director-General of the United Nations Office in Kenya, lit a candle to honour the memory of the fallen soldiers in the presence of their families.
