By I.K Musa 

The Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) a body with more than 30,000 members paying monthly dues to the union is the largest and perhaps the most powerful union in Sierra Leone today that is there generally to be a strong, unified advocating body for teachers, with overarching interest in the functioning of the overall education system that is supposed to provide several discount program opportunities, including life insurance benefits, credit card opportunities, mortgage assistance and offer professional development opportunities for its membership.

Our investigations reveal that a teacher of the Sierra Leone Muslim Brotherhood (SLMB) Primary School Nyadenyama Section Kenema City, eastern part of Sierra Leone, Mary Tenneh Lahai has been sick since 2018 to date with cancer and all effort by the Sierra Leone doctors to cure her proved fruitless. Doctors advised she be flown to Ghana for proper medical treatment. But even after spending huge sums of money in Ghana, her treatment had to be discontinued when funds ran dry and she was returned home.

Speaking to this press, a man who described himself as the husband of teacher Mary Tenneh Lahai said Mr. Ensah Boima Juana informed him that his wife had been sick for over one year and that when the sickness started, his wife started taking medication in Kenema but could not see headway and that he later decided to take his wife to Freetown for better treatment where she spent over three months in Freetown going from one hospital to the other before medical doctors advised him to fly  his wife to Ghana for proper medical treatment.

He added that it was during this period that a friend advised him to write an official letter to the head teacher of the Sierra Leone Muslim Brotherhood (SLMB) Primary School, the Teaching Services Commission and the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education through the Director of Education in Kenema officially informing them about his wife’s condition as he had reliably learnt that his wife’s name had been removed from the voucher and that if that was the case, it was not fair.

Boima reiterated that after spending money in Kenema and Freetown, he was later advised to write an official letter to the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) through the Kenema office and that he waited for weeks for a response from the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) but none was forthcoming and so he decided to make a follow-up visit to the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) Kenema office. He added that up on his visit to the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) Kenema office he realized that no action had been taken and he was then advised to contact the national office of the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) which he did but that he was told by the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) through the desk officer that they have not received any letter of such nature from the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) Kenema office, adding that he then decided to write another official letter to the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) copying the national President of the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU)  and other national officials of the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) including the media and the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) Kenema office; quoting all what he had gone through since his wife got sick; flying her to Ghana for further medical treatment  where they spent almost a year and all monies he saved even for feeding their children and to take care of other family issues; he was left with nothing in Ghana and even in Sierra Leone.

He added that he also informed the SLTU and other relevant authorities that his wife’s condition did not improve and so they decided to return to Sierra Leone as they had nothing left to eat neither to pay medical bills. He noted that since their return to Sierra Leone he decided to contact the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) through the Kenema office who told him again that they had sent all documents to the national office of the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) for action and that they told him again that they have not got any response from the national office of the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) and that he tried to reach the national office of the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) to ascertain who is playing games.

“I have decided to come to the press because they speak for us the voiceless and to help fight my cause and I am also calling on humanitarian organizations to come to the aid of my wife as she has suffered too much,” Ensah lamented.   

Investigations continue.