The True Story
The gory video of a 19 year old female student of Fourah Bay College, Blessings Bengeh being paraded inside a “keke” continues to swamp social media for the past four days. Consequently, there have been mixed reactions on an incident that saw a half-naked and visibly disheveled girl with a bitten arm and bruised face being pelted with invectives and described as a whore ……an “original raray girl…”
In any case, the assailant whom we have identified as one Mariama Tucker and married to Joseph Tucker, a senior staff of the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA), appeared to be convinced that parading poor Blessings Bengeh in a Keke, biting off her finger nails; burying her teeth on her right arm zombie style; threatening to kill her and making a short movie out of it would quench her thirst for vengeance against someone she probably had no evidence of having an affair with her husband. We have followed this story closely and this was what we gathered from impeccable sources.
On the morning of Wednesday, 8th September 2021 Blessings Bengeh, a First Year student of Economics at the University of Sierra Leone was literally abducted from her 77 Lumley Road residence at Wilberforce after she was lured into a Keke by Mariam Tucker.
Blessings had concluded morning prayers with her family and she was getting ready to leave for classes. Her Father, a clergy man had also left for the Pademba Road Prisons where he was to minister God’s word to inmates.
On that fateful morning, a knock at the gate alerted the family and Blessings came out to meet Mariama Tucker whom she was pretty familiar with.
Despite being half naked with barely a wrapper tied on the lower and upper parts of her body, the unsuspecting Blessings obliged to climb onto the Keke outside her gate thinking it was going to be a private chat with Mariama Tucker.
As soon as she entered the Keke, the rider sped off. That was how her hellish ordeal began. By the time they get to Spur Road, the poor girl had been physically assaulted by a desperate housewife who had no evidence of the girl dating her husband other than a complimentary comment made by the husband that read; “Nice Finger Nails” on her Whatsapp status. The husband, Joseph Tucker himself has vehemently denied he has any relationship with Blessings Bengeh.
As the Keke slowed down to negotiate a curve, Blessings jumped off after Mariama spoke to someone on the phone instructing him/her to get a scissors and dry ‘kanya’ pepper because she was “going to kill her in front of the husband”.
As, it happened, Blessings is a close friend of Joseph’s niece, Mercy a student of UNIMAK. There have been instances when Joseph would ask Blessings to advise his niece to take her university work seriously. Both girls attended the International School until they separated because they chose attend separate universities.
Mariama has been detained at the Lumley Police Station since Thursday but while he has reportedly made a secrete apology to Behgeh’s family, we have also been informed of defiant and unremorseful statements she has made to friends and on social media.
As we continue with our investigations, we have learnt that Blessings Bengeh is in a deep psychological trauma barely able to communicate intelligly at the moment. She was said to have dismissed the possibility of returning to the university because she could no longer infractious damage to her reputation.
However, since the incident occurred, there has been no statement from human rights or women’s advocacy groups. Many observers have described such deafening silence from civil society as a national disgrace.
Blessing Bengeh’s predicament is a case of abduction, assault with grievous bodily harm, cyber bullying and potentially, an attempted murder.
Our refusal to stake a stand and give her justice could mean the antithesis of what we truly want to achieve as a civilized nation where the law reings supreme.
Stay Tuned!!
My only comment here is considering the nature of our society continuing to populate this story in the name of justice for this poor lad is created stigma for her. Mind you for her age this act is view negatively so take this story off social media and handle it through court but I tell you, you are playing with this ladies tomorrow and she is not aware of that implication so she feels you are sympathizing with her. Having gone through the entire story, this approach is uncalled for please.