By Foday Moriba Conteh
According to our reporter in Port Loko District, Northern Sierra Leone, a sizable number of residents of Kaffu Bullom Chiefdom are speculating that the wife of the Paramount Chief of the Chiefdom, Ya Bomposseh Sheba, who doubles as the Head of Traditional Female Chiefs in the Chiefdom, is set to break chieftaincy norms. He intimated how it is mooted that there is looming imminent succession wahala hovering over the chiefdom which is largely due to the lack of traditional preparedness of those who will be qualified to lay claims on the leadership of the chiefdom. This, they furthered is attributable to the non-availability of the claimants within the chiefdom because their mother, the wife of the Paramount Chief, Ya Bomposseh, has not returned with them from a vacation they undertook despite the fact that schools have reopened over a couple of months ago.
Our reporter further informed that to many such is indeed quite strange as the Paramount Chief, Hon PC Bai Shebora Sheba Gbereh III and his wife traveled for a vacation last year to the United Kingdom and they both returned on the expected date. The unexpected hiatus, which began as a holiday for Ya-Bomposseh and her children, has extended into several months, causing unrest and raising numerous questions within the community, affectionately known as the ‘Bullomites’.
He said tongues have been wagging among residents who have been interpreting the twist of event as a setback in the chiefdom and has brought many questions among the ‘Bullomites’ with one of them, Mrs. Tucker, the Headmistress of the Word of Life International School. asking: “As the only wife to the Chief, why absconding from her matrimonial home?”
Our reporter mentioned how the Headmistress expressed lots of disappointment in not seeing the kids return to school saying they have missed a lot in school, wondering if they would catch up after missing a whole term of classes.
He highlighted that in an interview granted, Ya-Alimamy Ka’Kake (the Personal Assistant to Ya Bomposseh), said the latter left the shores of Sierra Leone on the 7th of April 2023 for a couple of week vacation with the kids.
“The travel was meant to let the kids go out of the country while making arrangements for an unannounced initiation rituals upon return,” he quoted her adding how she sounded astonished at what she referred to as a betrayal of culture and tradition.
The reporter said when he asked her what would happen when Ya Bomposseh returned, Ka’Kake revealed the plans to initiate the kids as any of them is entitled to the throne of the Chiefdom as their custom dictates to ‘catch them when they are young’.
She also pointed out that the fact that the obnoxious Gender Act that restricted women has been amended to the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act (GEWE), guarantees the right of women and girls, but lamented that Yabomposseh has made it more worrisome for them as for now it is uncertain what the future holds for the Sheba family if things do not go in accordance to laid down traditions it might be the collapse of the Sheba Ruling family.
It must be noted that Chieftaincy traditions and customs are sacred, lifetime dignified achievements that are unique and are highly contested by members from ruling heritages or family.
Our reporter said upon further investigation it was stated by a very senior Chiefdom stakeholder, Pa Komrabai, the Kasongha Section Chief, that the failure on the part of Ya bomposseh and her children to return might be connected to health reasons or unforeseen circumstances which have held them long from coming home. He stated how the PCMP Bai Shebora is also worried considering how his subjects might perceive and misconstrue the situation.
He then went on to elaborate on the amount of money being spent to give Sahid Sheba Kamara, the male child a befitting Poro and Hojeh initiation while simultaneously initiating Aminata Sheba Kamara and Fatima Sheba Kamara, the girls, into the Female Genital Mutilation (Bondo Society). “It is part of cleansing them and granting them a sense of belonging”, he was also quoted as saying.
Worthy of note is that despite the Government’s pronouncement on the ban on secret societies, its implementation faces tough resistance. During the school holiday, this medium investigated over fifty (50) Secret Societies across the country and they are unbelievably on the rise. What also came out glaringly was that the initiation ceremonies or rites were horrific and for the Bondo Society for girls and women, the cutting or mutilation causes bleeding and its deadly.
For some in this country the practice is considered outdated, inhumane, and rejected by certain elite female activists. Campaigns are ongoing but the initiators (Soweis) are afraid of losing their jobs and finding it hard to abide by the ban. Some female groups in West-End of Freetown have joined the Forum Against Harmful Practices (FAHP) in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs, Purposeful and Irish Aid on a float parade to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
In trying to get at the bottom of this interesting and unfolding episode in Kaffu Bullom Chiefdom, our reporter rang the Paramount Chief for him to throw light on the issue but unfortunately he did not pick up.
Further efforts were made to interview him at the House of Parliament since he serves as the Paramount Chief Member of Parliament (PCMP) for Port Loko District but those efforts proved futile.
Investigation into this interesting human interest saga continues and new findings will be revealed.
