VP Meriton answers PNQ on missing weapon

VP Meriton answers PNQ on missing weapon

23-May-2018


• SPDF sergeant detained over incident

An investigation is currently underway following an incident where a revolver gun went missing from the armoury of the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces’ (SPDF) military base in Barbarons.
Vice-President Vincent Meriton said this during the National Assembly when answering a Private Notice Question (PNQ) set by leader of the opposition Wavel Ramkalawan in regards to the incident.
VP Meriton was accompanied by SPDF chief of staff, Colonel Michael Rosette.
The missing revolver, a .22 caliber gun with number SCDFB 42023, was discovered in the possession of an off-duty officer of the SPDF during a patrol conducted by officers of the Seychelles Police Force in the town vicinity. It is still unclear when the revolver -- which had no ammunitions -- actually disappeared from the armoury.
According to VP Meriton, the accused SPDF officer holds the rank of sergeant and is currently being detained at the SPDF headquarters in Bel Eau.
The sergeant was the non-commissioned officer in charge of the armoury and, it would seem, took advantage of his position to disregard the established armoury protocols.
“Procedures that are in place at the base demands that the officer in charge of the armoury inspect the weapons and count the ammunitions in front of the military officer taking them out for training, duty or for cleaning. Both officers have to sign the record book.”
“The same procedure is undertaken when the weapons and ammunitions are brought back in,” VP Meriton explained while emphasising that these procedures are in accordance to international protocols such as the Nairobi Protocol.
Honourable Gervais Henrie later questioned this stance given that the Vice- President’s recount of the affair revealed that SPDF did not have any notion that the revolver was missing until the police force got hold of the accused and the weapon.
In his statement, VP Meriton also added that an audit of the armoury which took place right after the incident determined that no other weaponry or ammunitions were missing.
The investigation is being carried out by a commission established under the Defence Act and will be responsible for publishing a report on its findings and recommendations to better safeguard SPDF’s armouries.
In view of the dangerous nature of the incident, Honourable Ramkalawan wanted the Vice-President to explain why the government did not see fit to issue a press communiqué to make the people aware of the incident.
VP Meriton noted that since the police and defence forces acted swiftly to contain the situation and retrieve the weapon, the government did not feel the need to create public hysteria.
He also asserted that he was not aware of any attempt on the assailant’s part to sell off the revolver to a civilian.
Concerns were raised by MNAs such as Regina Esparon and Hon. Ramkalawan on how often the country’s armouries are audited and VP Meriton stated that these armouries are audited every two months with random inventories in-between.
However VP Meriton was unable to provide specific information on the last time the Barbarons armoury was audited prior to the incident stating that he would supply these details at a later point.
On his part Terence Mondon asked what guarantees the government could give to assure the public that no such incident repeats itself especially since there have allegedly been similar occurrences in the past.
“We do realise that there was a lapse in the system which enabled the officer to take advantage of his position hence we have to look into options such as making sure that the officer that supervises them come around more often or other mechanisms,” replied VP Meriton. Meanwhile 24/7 CCTV cameras have already been set up at the armoury in order to discourage such incidents.
“SPDF over the years have ensured the security of the country as best as it could have and will continue to do so. For this to happen it will have to evolve with the times and this is why there is an exercise to review SPDF’s legal framework in order to fine-tune its operations,” he further added.
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