In the dry morning heat of northern Sierra Leone, with the sun beginning to shimmer over the hills, David fastened his helmet and swung a leg over his dusty Yamaha bike, David and his best friend Fuad always seen together like brother.
In a Village like Gbonkomaria, Magberma Chiefdom, where being gay could cost you your home, your job, and even your life, the news about Fuad and David spread like a wide fire in the community.
They have started riding two years ago, but no one understood that David and Fuad where involving in such acts of being gay, until when David became very sick with big stomach, that was the time when David confessed to his family that he was practicing gay with Fuad.
Their relationship was built on moments stolen between rides a quick kiss behind a fueling station, David tracing words to his family that makes them go after Fuad and reports the matter to the police station.
During our regional tour for news happening in that part of the Country someone told us that, One day, while delivering in a small conservative area, he recognized Fuad from a distance kissing David.
That night when the news broke out a group of youth, break into Fuad mother’s home and destroyed everything, while did a search for Fuad to be kill, but Fuad ran to the nearby Village for safety.
In Sierra Leone being gay is not just a taboo but shameful in the eyes of men, Fuad Kamara knew he had to keep his true self-hidden. Growing up in a conservative community like Gbonkomaria, Magberma Chiefdom in the Northern part of Sierra Leone, where homophobia ran rampant, he learned to mask his feelings and hide his identity to protect himself from the harsh realities faced by LGBTQ individuals.
In an exclusive interview with one Ibrahim Sesay in Rokupr, he noted that Fuad Kamara was brutally attacked in his home by a group of men who claimed David’s family had sent them, ‘They accused Fuad of making David ill through same-sex acts , he says’. Ibrahim further narrated that Fuad was beaten severely and threaten to be kill.
After noticing that Fuad has escaped, the chief made a report at the local police station. The local unit commander release a wanted list of Fuad Kamara, and placed a ransom for whoever show his location that will lead to his arrest.
