By Alfred Yamba.
Information gathered by this newspaper has revealed that Madam Hawa Koroma formerly of Mabonto village in the Simiria Chiefdom in the Tonkolili District in the Northern Region of Sierra Leone, is now on the run fearing for the safety of her life after she was declared wanted by women of the dreaded Bondo Secret Society because of her refusal to be initiated as the Sowe of the society and succeed her dead mother, Yaa Koloneh, as the head initiator of the society.
It is common knowledge that among other barbaric practices, the women of the Bondo Society normally circumcise young women and girls by cutting off their clitoris and the labia majora of their vaginas to, as they put it, “cleanse the women and reduce their sexual desires.”
Hawa is also accused of being engaged in the campaign against the female genital mutilation that the Bondo Society women practice on young girls and women.
According to a female relative of Hawa Koroma who does not want us to state her name for fear of reprisals, Hawa’s troubles started around early November this year 2019 when her mother who was the Sowe of the Bondo secret society died and there was need to initiate another woman, mostly a daughter or grand daughter to succeed the deceased Sowe.
She further explained that as the only daughter to her late mother, Hawa was automatically expected to be initiated as the next Sowe.
The woman disclosed that since Hawa was forcefully initiated into the Bondo Society sometime in 1982, she had been complaining of bad dreams, vaginal and stomach pains and she has refused to have anything to do with the Bondo Society, noting that Hawa was very unhappy that she was chosen to succeed her mother, a decision she refused to accept which, according to tradition, is an abomination which can lead to the death of Hawa.
When this Reporter requested for her to lead him to Madam Hawa Koroma for an interview, she stated that she did not know her whereabouts as after she was declared wanted by the Bondo secret society and her children kidnapped by unknown people in late November 2019 she disappeared from the community and has neither been seen nor heard from since.
She also disclosed that she has information that unidentified people continue to visit Hawa’s house in the late night hours, making threatening remarks that they will kill her the day they see her, a threat that has caused her family members and relatives, including her, to run away from the village.
She concluded that the Bondo secret society women have a very organized network all over the country and that they have all being alerted about the abomination committed by Hawa against the society and they will not rest until they find her and kill her to cleanse the society of the abomination.
When this Reporter attempted to get an interview with the Bondo Society women, he was informed that nobody will talk to him and that if he continued to pursue the matter, he will not be happy with what will befall him
