Forceful Takeover of Grandmother’s Shrine Sparks Escape Drama
Anti-Cult Woman Chased Out

By Brima Kallon

A 32-year-old woman, Isha Kabia, is reported to have fled for her life after an alleged attempt to forcibly compel her to take over her late grandmother’s secret society shrine.
According to eyewitness accounts, the incident reportedly occurred on June 18, 2023, in Lunsar Town, Marampa Chiefdom, Port Loko District.
Sources say Isha Kabia is the granddaughter of the late Marie Sesay, popularly known as “Yan Koloneh Kablai,” who was reportedly a prominent head of a women’s secret society shrine in that area.

Following the death of the late society leader, members of the society allegedly agreed that Isha Kabia should succeed her grandmother and take over the affairs of the shrine.
Eyewitnesses, who requested anonymity, claimed that on the evening of June 18th June 2023, a group of society women stormed the late woman’s residence demanding Kabia for onward initiation and installation as the new head of the shrine.
According to sources, Kabia was allegedly carrying out domestic chores when the women reportedly grabbed her from behind and forcibly dragged her into the society shrine.
She was allegedly detained there for two days and prevented from returning home while undergoing what witnesses described as several traditional rituals.
News of Kabia’s alleged forced detention quickly spread throughout the community, prompting residents to intervene and negotiate her release, but those efforts reportedly proved unsuccessful.
Sources further disclosed that while the society women were allegedly performing what was described as the final day of rituals, Kabia’s cousin and several friends reportedly stormed the shrine, forcibly removed her, and fled with her to an undisclosed location.
This newspaper gathered that immediately after news broke of Kabia’s escape, enraged society members allegedly mobilized and launched a search across the community, but failed to locate her or those who assisted in her escape.
Unable to find Kabia, the aggrieved women reportedly turned their anger on the family residence, vandalizing the property and destroying items worth thousands of Leones.
Witnesses further alleged that threats were made to burn down the house if Kabia and her cousin were not surrendered.
The whereabouts of Kabia and her cousin remain unknown.
Female genital mutilation (FGM), commonly associated with initiation into the Bondo society in Sierra Leone, involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia for non-medical reasons, often without anesthesia.
Although Sierra Leone recently passed a new Child Rights Act, critics note that the legislation does not explicitly criminalize FGM initiation.
Women and girls in Sierra Leone continue to face challenges relating to alleged forced initiation into secret societies, with activists raising concerns over coercion, violence, and cultural pressure.
Observers say some women are also pressured to inherit or manage family-linked secret society shrines, a practice critics argue places women at risk, especially those opposed to participation.
The Sowie society shrine is traditionally regarded as a secluded bush setting where women undergo training and initiation rites associated with the Bondo society.