Man Escapes Death from Deadly Secret Society Initiation

By Alfred Conteh

A 22-year-old man has narrowly escaped death after allegedly being forced into a brutal initiation ceremony by members of the Gbagani secret society a group believed to be responsible for multiple ritual killings in Yataya Village, Koinadugu District, northern Sierra Leone.

The victim, identified only as Ibrahim Kamara for security reasons, recounted his chilling ordeal, which began when he was lured to the village by a close friend of his late father a man who was once a member of the same secret cult. Unaware that the invitation was a trap, Kamara said he was ambushed and forced into what turned out to be a violent initiation into the Gbagani society, known for its deadly rites of passage.

Kamara explained that before his father’s death on February 22, 2022, members of the secret society had taken the ailing man to the initiation forest, where he reportedly died under mysterious circumstances. The family was never allowed to retrieve his remains until Kamara returned to the village on February 25, 2022.

“When I arrived in the evening, I saw the members of the secret society singing and dancing. They said they were celebrating because my father’s replacement me had arrived,” Kamara recalled. “That same night, they adopted me and took me into the initiation bush. It was then that they handed over my father’s remains to the family for burial.”

He said his late father had been one of the heads of the society, and by tradition, he as the eldest son was expected to inherit his father’s position.

“Before forcefully adopting me, some members of the cult approached and asked that I honor my father’s wish by taking his place in the society,” Kamara said. “However, I refused, telling them I am a devoted Muslim and do not practice cultism. That was my mistake.”

Kamara described how he was overpowered by more than twenty men during the initiation.

“They surrounded me, chanting in a circle. When I tried to escape, they subdued me and began cutting my body with knives,” he said during a telephone interview.

He said he was held in the forest for two days and endured severe beatings and torture. On the second night, while the men were drinking and dancing, Kamara seized the opportunity to flee. He escaped to Bo City in southern Sierra Leone, where he was later admitted to the Bo Government Hospital for treatment.

While recovering in the hospital, Kamara met a visiting pastor who prayed for the sick and later helped him flee to neighboring Liberia, where he is currently in hiding and continuing his recovery.

Authorities in Koinadugu District have not yet commented on the incident, but residents have long expressed fear over the activities of secret societies operating in the region.