By Foday Moriba Conteh
In the field of journalism sometimes one thing leads to another thing or issue and that was exactly what transpired when this news medium went to cover an emerging of the scale of disturbances in Sahn Malen Chiefdom, Pujehun District, Southern Sierra Leone.
There were disputes between local landowners and a European agribusiness company, SOCFIN of which community members were angry that their lands given to the company were grabbed from them.
Their leader and Member of Parliament, Shiaka Sama, was arrested and jail for almost a week and two other people were killed in clashes between the community members and the soldiers.
As a reporter who was designated to cover the story, I also filed in a story which I deemed is newsworthy within the category of human interest stories. The issue bothers around an attempted violation of the Freedom of Association of Abdul Jalloh, Aminata Jalloh and Fatmata Jalloh, who were forced to become a member of the Poro Secret Society and the Bondo Secret Society respectively.
These societies are highly secret society for young boys, women and men, of which Abdul Jalloh, Aminata Jalloh and Fatmata Jalloh are forced to join these Secret Societies for refusing to hand over their land documents to the Paramount Chief of Sahn Malen Chiefdom in order to be handed over to the European agribusiness company, SOCFIN for their operations.
This development came after the complete refusal of Abdul Jalloh, Aminata Jalloh and Fatmata Jalloh to hand over their land documents to the Paramount Chief and the said practice is said to be a tradition in the chiefdom of which the Paramount Chief has vow that the only way they can accept them back is when they agreed to join the Poro Society and the Bondo Society, and they are expected to comply, as deviating from it is tantamount to disobedience to the gods of the land and is seen as a sacrilege.
But certainly, they are not interested to join these Societies because it’s not morally decent and unethical for their health and their Christian religion, which led them not to cooperate with the process.
As they refuse to comply, our source disclosed that it has become apparent that the societies are poised to abduct them and forcefully initiate them, since they have shown unwillingness to join the secret societies. It was at the point that Abdul Jalloh, Aminata Jalloh and Fatmata Jalloh had to escape out of the country for their safety.
According to our investigation, it was revealed that the members of the societies have raided the family home of Abdul Jalloh, Aminata Jalloh and Fatmata Jalloh on several occasions, and are currently offering a reward for information leading to their location whenever they visits Sierra Leone.
According to sources close to the Secret Society hierarchy, the penalty of betrayal (refusing to comply with the tradition of the community) is death through unconventional means that leave no room for police investigation.
Up to this moment of going to Press the whereabouts of Abdul Jalloh, Aminata Jalloh and Fatmata Jalloh are not known.
But what is certain is that the members of the Poro Society are desperately searching for them vowing that if they are seen they will kill them and sacrifice them to their gods.
For now Abdul Jalloh, Aminata Jalloh and Fatmata Jalloh have been declared wanted in the country by members of these Societies because they believed they have committed treachery especially for not adhering to the dictates of tradition.
From what this medium learnt there are other young boys and girls in the country who are forced to associate themselves with certain traditional practices, some very harmful, against their wishes all in the name of complying with the directives of Paramount Chiefs or preserving traditions or customs.
In reality their basic fundamental human rights are violated with impunity which is why it is important for Human Rights Based Organizations in the country to step advocacy and raise their voices against those harmful traditional practices otherwise young people will continue to suffer in silence.
