A mother of three children identified as Kadiatu Braima, a resident of Makeni in Bombali District, is alleged to have narrowly escaped death after she was pursued by leaders of the Bondo secret society for refusing to be initiated and succeed her late mother as a Sowei.
Speaking to this medium, her sister, Mrs. Pessima claims that Kadiatu faced discrimination for several years because of her refusal to take up the Sowei title, the leadership of the Bondo society, after her late mother served in the role for nearly 4 decades.
According to Mrs. Pessima, Kadiatu, a mother to a daughter herself, opposed joining the society because of concerns about female genital cutting, which she believes can lead to serious health complications for young girls.
Mrs. Pessima further alleges that Kadiatu’s opposition to the practice was made resolute after one of her closest childhood friends experienced persistent bleeding following initiation into the Bondo society and later died. Kadiatu herself nearly bled to death when she was initiated at 6 years of age. Pessima says that the incident deeply affected her sister and reinforced her decision never to become a member that violates children and women’s rights.
She explains that following the death of their mother, one of their maternal aunts, Ya Bundu, informed them that Kadiatu had been chosen as the natural heir to her mother’s role and inheritance as a Sowei.
Kadiatu refused without giving it second thought because she did not want to have anything to do with the traumatic practices that came with the entire institution. “Our aunt told her that she had no choice and that if she refused, she would pay dearly for it,as no one will stop them, not even the police,”Mrs Pessima adds.
She says that shortly after their mother’s 40-day memorial ceremony in Makeni, a group of women dressed in red and white headscarves approached Kadiatu and attempted to forcefully take her and her son, Samking Braima, to join the Bondo and Poro societies respectively.
“Before she could react, they grabbed and started dragging her. She struggled, managed to free herself from their grip, and ran into the nearby bush. Her son was rescued by me. They chased her but were unable to catch her.”
Kadiatu was later told that she had disgraced the elders of the society after allegedly pushing one of them to the ground during the scuffle.
Mrs. Pessima was informed that Kadiatu would face severe consequences for her actions and that her life, and the lives of her children, were in jeopardy.
Fearing for her safety and that of her children, Kadiatu fled to Freetown and sought refuge with a friend in Waterloo. However, several months later, members of the Bondo society traced her whereabouts and attempted to seize her once again.
” my friend protected me and told me to escape through the back door. As I ran, I heard them saying that no one had ever disgraced the elders, refused their legacy and tradition of their forefathers and gotten away with it,” Mrs Pessima claims that Kadiatu told her. Kadiatu escaped to Tunisia soon after.
The Bondo society is supported by some leaders on the political and financial scene and attempts by human rights activists to completely eradicate such practices as Female Genital Mutilation have been futile.
Efforts by this medium to obtain comments from individuals identified as members of the Bondo society were unsuccessful. Those contacted declined to discuss the matter, stating that it is a traditional issue on which they would not comment.
