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Sierra Leone Priests under fire |
CIVIL WAR
In Sierra Leone’s present circumstances, Church personnel
and members of
volunteer agencies
who live and work among the people
are particularly
at risk.
The author explains what happened to two Catholic priests
After twenty-five years of pastoral service in Sierra Leone, two Catholic priests fell victim to the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF)’s penchant for hostage-taking. The spill-over of Sierra Leone’s rebel crisis into neighbouring Guinea, has created a confusing situation which has led to accusations and counter-accusations between the neighbouring countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. On 8 September this year, RUF rebels from Sierra Leone carried out a cross-border raid into Guinea and kidnapped three Italian missionaries — two priests and a lay volunteer. This took place in the Guinean village of Pamalap. The volunteer was able to escape. The two Catholic priests, Fathers Vittorio Mosele and Franco Manganello belonging to the Xavierian Missionary Society had been offering their pastoral services in a refugee camp accommodating about 2,000 refugees, many from Makeni Diocese in Sierra Leone. The camp is situated in south-west Guinea. The missionaries had transferred there in January this year because Kambia, in Sierra Leone, where they were working, had come under RUF control.
The Guinean connection — Initially there was a certain amount of confusion as to which rebel group had kidnapped the missionaries. An RUF spokesman said the two priests had been abducted by a Guinean group under the leadership of a certain Toure, who many believed to be the son of the late President of Guinea, Ahmed Sekou Toure, who was in power from 1958 to 1984.
Bishop George Biguzzi of Makeni Diocese said he was not convinced the priests had been abducted by Guinean insurgents. He said: «I believe the RUF abducted them. I don’t know who is in control of the area where they were kidnapped, but perhaps whoever has them will contact me and we can then discuss what to do».
Bishop Biguzzi left Makeni for Freetown in 1997, when Makeni in the north was captured by soldiers loyal to the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC). In the midst of Sierra Leone’s confused military scene, ever since the West African Intervention Force (ECOMOG) succeeded in restoring President Kabbah to power, Makeni has continued to change hands and in 1999 the RUF succeeded in capturing it. Bishop Biguzzi has continued to carry on his pastoral activities from Freetown, especially amongst the ever-increasing refugee population.
The bishop was concerned about the well-being of the two kidnapped priests and hoped they would be able to stand up to the rigours of life on the move in the jungle. It was well known that the rebels were constantly on the move and would obviously take their victims with them as they moved through the jungle. Even though the priests might have been kept in houses deserted by their owners, they would still, out of necessity, have to drink contaminated water, eat poorly prepared food, and sleep in poor conditions. Nothing was known where exactly the two priests were. Rumour had it that they had been taken back across the border into Sierra Leone, maybe into Kambia district.
The Liberian connection — The abduction came at a time when hopes were high for the restoration of peace. The on-going demobilisation, disarmament and reintegration of former combatants, plus an increase in the number of United Nations troops, were giving Sierra Leoneans a ray of hope. Then came the news that the RUF was backing Guinean insurgents to destabilise neighbouring Guinea.
To make matters even more complicated, accusing fingers have been pointed by both the Sierra Leonean and the Guinean authorities at President Charles Taylor of Liberia. He has been accused of backing dissidents in both Sierra Leone and Guinea. Indeed, intelligence reports state that the RUF continues to enjoy President Taylor’s patronage. His influence with the RUF is shown by the way in which he was able to facilitate the release of the UN troops who had been kidnapped by the RUF in May this year, and in ensuring that General Issa Sesay should replace the imprisoned RUF leader, Foday Sankoh. Also, several members of the RUF High Command are presently residing in Liberia. These include such characters as Commander Sam Bockarie, Eldred Cullens, Denis Mingo among others.
The abduction of the two Italian missionaries proves that the RUF rebels are still very active.
Editor’s update: The two kidnapped priests are free to move around their parish of Madina but cannot leave the area for security reasons. They are treated with respected and can continue with their pastoral ministry. (MISNA, 6 November 2000)
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