Two Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces' (RSLAF) personnel complained to the Ombudsman about wrongful dismissal.

The first complainant alleged that while he was serving a three months sentence passed by a Court Martial, routine medical checks were carried out on all personnel. He was summarily dismissed for not availing himself for the medical checks.

The second complainant claimed that his name was listed against another officer’s number from a different battalion and therefore could not show up for the medical checks on the stated date because of the mix-up. He was also summarily dismissed.

To resolve the complaints, the Ombudsman convened a meeting with the senior officers of RSLAF responsible for personnel and recommended to them that the complainants be reinstated because their absence was not deliberate. After the meeting, the RSLAF reinstated the complainants and paid them their backlog salaries.

(This is a sample of the complaints dealt with by the Ombudsman that was published in the 2011/2012 Annual Report of the Office of the Ombudsman. The aim is to create a better understanding of the kinds of complaints that are referred to the Ombudsman and how they are resolved)