By Mohamed Karbgo
20 years old Mohame Fofanah has been reported missing after he was declared wanted by certain members of the Poro Society. According to investigations conducted by this medium, Fofanah was declared wanted because he declined to take his ‘rightful’ position as head of society the secret society.
Poro is one of the major male secret societies in Sierra Leone that has members in all walks of life in the country. The leadership of the Poro Society is, however based on inheritance within specific families in the country. Those families command significant respect and feared in the areas where the society operates, especially in the rural areas.
At old age, each head of the society is expected to present to the general membership the son that will inherit his position after his demise. Mohame Fofanah’s father was the head of the Poro Society at Kayiama Village in Kono District, a mantle the family has held for generations.
Speaking to the media, Kumba Kamara younger sister to Fofanah’s late mother narrated that her nephew was living with his grandmother in Freetown but on a certain date in July 2023, he called and told her that the elders of the poro society had informed him that he has been chosen by his father to inherit his position as leader of the society.
She said Fofanah told her the elders had asked him to travel to the village for short initiation ceremony that will allow him to begin to sit by the sides of his old father and learn the process.
“The boy confides in me that he was not interested in being a member of the Poro Society not to talk of taking a position as head. I drew his attention to how dangerous declining the elders request could be and the consequences that could follow. But the boy had already made up his mind,” Kumba explained.
Kumba recalled one morning in early August 15, 2023 when she received a distressful call from her mother whom Fofanah was living with in Freetown that Fofanah has not returned home for more than four days, noting that she reach out to some family members in Freetown but none of them said they have seen him.
“I immediately called his father at the village to confirm that he had travelled to the village, she said. “His father replied that they are expecting him, but they have not seen him.
Many other people including one Alusine, his childhood friend confirmed is not in the village, Kumba added.
Kumba said she decided to contact the media and call for government attention because she is of the view that members of the poro society had kidnapped the boy and forced him to become a member of the society against his will.
“We have had cases wherein many boys have been kidnapped, taken into the initiation bush and be initiated against their will, and many have lost their lives through the process. This is the third week we have not seen him or know his whereabouts,” she said
