Sierra Leone’s Vice President, Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh has been accused of recruiting mercenaries to destabilize Guinea. The scathing accusation was made by the Guinean President, Alpha Conde.
The move, the President said, was to aid his main challenger, Cellou D,allein Jallo. To halt mercenaries crossing into Guinea from the Sierra Leonean side, Guinean troops have been deployed on the borders to keep guard. The allegations against Sierra Leone’s Vice President has already created a diplomatic row between Guinea and Sierra Leone.
The good relationship the two countries is gradually turning sour. In the midst of the allegations, the Vice President is yet to respond. Guinea is on the verge of holding it’s third elections to continue the smooth democratic transition.
The current Guinea President has successfully run for two terms and has administered twice. His determination to manipulate the constitution to go for a third term is the genesis of the political crisis in Guinea. President Conde does not want to go,and he equally does not want to see his contender, Mr Jallo darkens the walls of power in Guinea.
For years, democracy was unknown to Guinea as the country has seen military an uninterrupted chronology of military leadership and dictatorship. The death of President Lansana Content and the overthrow of Captain Musa Dadis Kamara marked a new dawn of political order in the country. Guinea joined the community of free nations by its preference to democracy to dictatorship.
But, it young democratic state is straying from one of the cardinal parameters of democracy which calls for a smooth and peaceful transfer of power when one’s mandate fades away. For some countries in Africa, democracy is still an evolving concept from which Guineans would have learned a lot had the authorities allowed it to flourish.
The deployment of troops on the Guinean border means an interruption of trade and commerce between the two countries. This is not the first time Guinea and Sierra Leone are engulfed into a diplomatic conflict. The occupation of Yenga community in Kailahun district by Guinean troops was also a conflict that could go into history books.
A strained relationship between the two Mano River Union countries was visible at that time. The astute leadership of former President Koroma who embarked on diplomatic engagement with his Guinean counterpart made Sierra Leone a safe place. Guinea withdrew his troops peacefully, and Kailahun got back it’s territory. Guinea has always been a key and strategic partner to Sierra Leone and the countries share common values.
Guinea, apart from hosting quite a large number of Sierra Leonean refugees, contributed troops to stop the Revolutionary United Front, a group of guerrilla fighters that we’re going to take over the administration of state. The Guinean troops came under the m umbrella of the ECOWAS Monitoring Groyp-ECOMOG.
Guinea lost most of it’s personnel in a Sierra Leonean war that lasted for a decade.
Guinea’s intervention into the armed conflict made a difference, a difference that led to the end of war in 2002.
The peace Sierra Leone enjoys today could be attributed partly to the Guinean sacrifices yesterday. Guinea is on record to have protected important communities in Sierra Leone notably, PortLoko, the North-wrstern regional headquarters.