By Africa 24 Newspaper

 The country is trapped in doubt by its people on the actual mandate of the ECOWAS military deployment in Sierra Leone. Their purpose of coming yet remains unclear by many Sierra Leoneans.

Sierra Leoneans have some mixed feelings on ECOMOG coming (ECOWAS military wing) because they believe Sierra Leone are having her military forces but they asked why should other foreign forces are being asked to  deploy in the country.

Other citizens have opined that, there are big nations in Africa that also have the might to request for ECOWAS military deployment but have not do so.

Citizens who spoke to this medium, have said, the deployment of ECOMOG in Sierra Leone is beginning to raise tensions as most people are attributing the deployment as sign of a regime change while others have said they are soliders are deployed as a standby force for ECOWAS countries at war.

They also said the deployment is believed to be a batch to restore democracy in Sierra Leone while others see it differently saying that  the agenda and mandate is not yet clearly defined.

Musa Kamara, a Freetown resident, had told this medium that, ECOWAS military are purely coming to restore democracy in Sierra Leone, according to his understanding.

He opined that the 2023 general election was not won by President Julius Maada and tlso the reason for the ECOWAS coming in the country to offer solutions to the already fragile democratic credentials of the country Sierra Leone to the outside world.

The government side has also confirmed the deployment of these forces.

The Military spokesman has  informed the public in one of interviews saying that  the ECOWAS military will be deployed in Sierra Leone as a standby force and will only come to restore democracy in member states in West Africa.

He said the deployment preparation has started long ago and they are not coming to remove any government but they will be here as a standby force for ECOWAS military force to help restore peace in countries that at war.

Many citizens are of the view that the coming of the ECOMOG is not unconnected to protecting the citizens of Sierra Leone and to return Sierra Leone to a proper democratic rule after its disputed 2023 June elections.

In one of the interviews with the Opposition Leader in Parliament, Hon Abdul Kargbo had also confirmed that the ECOWAS Military deployment is an agreement as a standby force.

“If anyone says the ECOWAS military deployment is here to change a regime or remove President Bio that is not true. There will be no foreigners coming here to remove a government, ” he confirmed.

Many quarters of the public have doubts and do not have full knowledge on why the ECOWAS military group are coming into the country to base in the Port Loko district of Lungi Town, soon in September 15 this year.

They have also blamed authorities for the failure to educate the public on the ECOMOG deployment.

Other Sierra Leoneans on the streets said the people of Sierra Leone, not many, are well prepared to receive the ECOMOG contingent to be coming soon.

Rumours have stated that some people might use the coming of the military as an opportunity to call for a rerun of the 2023 polls, which ended in controversy with opposition parties challenging President Bio legitimacy to go for a second term in office.

At the Tripartite committee, the All People’s Congress  (APC) party submitted their points that they had a comfortable lead of 57% in the 2023 polls.

The opposition party leader went further to say that they collated 70% of the results across Sierra Leone when the elections were all announced by the ECSL, the country’s electoral body.

They therefore had bee calling for a rerun of the elections in Sierra Leone.

The Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) party, the…