By Francess Wright
It has been confirmed that one Andrew Patrick Kabia has been declared wanted by the Sierra Leone Police on 25 June 2020 for his alleged involvement in gay related activities and for vigorously advocating for girls and boys to stop putting their lives in danger.
According to a civil Society activist, Andrew was accused of campaigning negatively against the Bondo secret society and describing it as barbaric and evil. He was also accused of standing with the LGBT against the maltreatment meted out to them by government officials and some members of the community.
“If Andrew returns to Sierra Leone at anytime he will be put in Jail without due process and will end up losing his life like his colleagues,” the Executive Director for Human Rights and Justice, Francis Lahai told journalists.
“Andrew was a Bisexual and like having sex with men more than women.
He started dating men in 2019 but his partner never knew that it is a serious crime to practice gay in the country,” Mr. Lahai stressed.
He said some gay activists were put in jail recently while others were killed and disowned by their parents.
He said government officials and community members do not allow LGBT activities to operate in the area, adding that those who practice it do it secretly to avoid losing their lives.
“Andrew’s father is responsible to organize the Poro secret society while his mother organizes the Bondo secret society,” Francis stressed.
He accused Andrew’s father of doing everything possible to forcefully initiate children including Andrew, but he later escaped from the initiators due to his bisexual role.
Andrew he said was associated with LGBT activities which prompted members of the Poro and Bondo secret societies to declared him wanted.
The report further states that the police invited Andrew and his colleagues including Joseph for questioning regarding the allegations levied against them but he refused to respond to police invitation. Joseph who went first was put in custody and later sent to the Padamba Road Prison where he later died. His death caused serious panic in the community which prompted Andrew to escape to an unknown destination.
Andrew decided to escape after hearing the death of his colleague in prison, which did not go down well with the law enforcement agency.
Meanwhile, Andrew’s residence was attacked sometime on April 2020. The people attacked his house at a time when Andrew had left there in the early hours of that day to fulfill an appointment.
“Andrew received a call from his neighbor informing him about the attack on his house. The people ransacked the building and carted away properties they could lay hands on. The attackers held cutlasses, sticks threatening to kill Andrew if seen,” Lahai emphasized.
He said Andrew was later detained when he reported the matter at the police station and the intervention of Mr. Lahai saw his released from custody.
