Over forceful succession of head of society, daughter ran for her life
By Sorie Kamara
28 year old Hawa Mansaray is alleged to have been attempeted forced into joining a secret society she never wished to join.
Report from the village of Makoma, Ribi Chiefdom, Moyamba district indicated that Hawa Mansaray daughter of one of the society heads in that part of the country, society women after the death of Hawa’s mother, Aminata Conteh, commonly known as Koloneh Kablai, they unanimously agreed to replace the late woman with her daughter as head of the society.
According to one of the witnesses, who begged not to be named, in the evening hours of 15th December, 2023, these society women violeently stormed the residence of late Koloneh Kablai to demand for Hawa Mansaray for onward initaition and eventual handing over of the society shrine to her.
Hawa was allegedly busy doing domestic work when those society women grabbed her from behind, dragging her to the secret society snrine.
According to our eyewitness, while they were busy singing and dancing in preparation for the ritual, Hawa’s husband, Esheka Mansaray, clandestinely removed her from the said shrine, escaped with her to an unknown destination.
Information gathered by this newspaper revealed that immediately news broke out that Hawa’s husband has escaped with her from the shrine, society women went in search of them, but to no avail.
And since Hawa and her husband were nowhere to be found, the angry society women turned their search to Hawa’s house vandalised it and destroyed property worth thousands of leones and vowed to burn down the house should they failed to show up.
Family members of Hawa are said to have fled the village to a safe place, while the whereabouts of Hawa and her husband still remain unknown.
Bondo society in Sierra Leone is usually the act of removing the clitoris of young girls and women with no anaesthetic for none medical reasons.
The new Child Rights Act which was passed into law in Sierra Leone doesn’t criminalize FGM initiation in the country.
In Sierra Leone women and girls are still facing serious challenges with regard to forceful initiation.
