One of four soldiers who went missing last week Wednesday from the army's Camp Ayanganna base, turned himself in on Sunday, accompanied by his mother and a concerned relative.
Private Kwesi Odinga Ward was apparently hiding at his mother's Berbice home, but after a warrant officer persuaded her, the woman decided to take the young man back to the city base, sources said.
According to a release from the army yesterday, "on arrival at Base Camp Ayanganna, the soldier's mother, Mrs Beverly Ward, stated that she was of the view that he ought not to have escaped from military custody and should face the consequences for the offence he committed."
Stabroek News understands that the private was serving a 42-day sentence at the time of his disappearance for previously being absent without leave (AWOL). Information coming out of the Public Relations Department of the Guyana Defence Force said Ward was in detention for being AWOL and was not involved in the theft and sale of the AK-47 and M70 rifles, which were allegedly sold to Mohamed Shaharudin, a Berbice businessman, and Rabindranauth Persaud, of 7 Dowding Street, Kitty, Georgetown.
The army launched a probe last month after the two guns were stolen and two others were almost pilfered. Six soldiers were fingered in the racket and were detained.
But just after the 5:30 am flag raising ceremony at the military base last Wednesday, Ward and three other detained soldiers went missing. They were last seen the previous night at a staff parade.
The army yesterday explained that two of the soldiers who are still at large were not involved in the theft of the weapons. They "were being held for questioning into the attempted theft of two other rifles from the Coast Guard. The three soldiers who are directly linked to the theft and sale of the AK-47 and M70 rifles were at no time left unattended and remain under close arrest at Camp Ayanganna. It is the intention of the force to have them used by civil prosecutors as state witness in the case against Shaharudin and Persaud."
Following an investigation into the men's disappearance, a lance corporal mandated to guard them, was last week placed under close arrest. Up to press time last night, the army still had not uncovered the whereabouts of the three missing ranks.