By James Batilo Songa.
Reports reaching this newspaper state that Mr. Augustine Santigie Kamara formerly of Kandema village and later of Magburaka Yoni Chiefdom in the Northern Region of Sierra Leone, is now on the run fearing for the safety of his life and the lives of his family after he was declared wanted by members of the dreaded Poro Secret Society because of what they described as his act of abomination against the society.
According to our source, Mr. Augustine Santigie Kamara’s troubles started when his father, who was the Paramount Chief of Yoni Chiefdom and Head of the Poro Secret Society, died on the 25th July, 2019 and adhering to tradition, as the son of the deceased Chief, he was chosen to succeed his father as Chief and Head of the Poro Secret Society, which he outrightly refused, thereby incurring the wrath of the Poro society members who regarded his refusal as an unforgivable abomination that can only be settled by killing him in order to appease the deity of the society.
The source further explained that because of their determination to get Santigie at every cost and initiate him into the Poro Secret Society and crown him as Paramount Chief and Head of the Poro Secret Society, his father’s corpse was kept in the mortuary up to October while they searched for him all over the country.
The source further stated that when they failed to find Santigie, they reluctantly crowned one of his male cousins, Ibrahim Bangura, as Regent Chief while they continued to search for him.
The source revealed that in their tradition, the dead Chief is buried with the head of his predecessor while his own head is cut off and preserved for the one succeeding him.
He also revealed that during the taking of the oath by the new Chief, he is made to drink human blood from a human skull and to undergo cuttings of various parts of his body in order to decorate and fortify him.
He further explained that they were shocked when late one night in October 2019, Santigie’s family house in Kandema was set on fire by unknown people in which two of Santigie’s female relatives perished.
The man further explained that they do not know the whereabouts of Santigie and his family, and they have not heard from them since they disappeared from the village in late September 2019.
He disclosed that he has been reliably informed that the different Poro Secret Societies all over the country have been informed about the abomination caused by Santigie and given instructions that if Santigie and his family members are seen they should be killed in order to cleanse the society and appease the deity of the Poro secret society.
He stressed that the Poro men have vowed that they will not rest until they find Santigie and especially his son, Mr. Augustine Santigie Kamara a Junior and kill them.
He also revealed that the Poro secret society men are still searching for Santigie and his family and that they will never forgive him but they will kill him, his son and other family members the day they see them in order to cleanse the land of the abomination that he has caused and appease the deity of the society.
