#Freetown- 20 August, 2022-Information reaching this medium has stated that activities of secret society in some part of Sierra Leone continue to be forced young men and women into hiding and running away from place of birth and their country of origin.
Despite continued sensitization on the harmful effect of secret society yet in most parts of Sierra Leone young men and women are still forced into secret society initiations. The latest development was in Masimrah Village, Port Loko District, where one of its inhabitants, Abdul Sahid Koroma was forced to flee from the village and later outside of Sierra Leone.
The men poro secret society is part of the Sierra Leone cultural norms and if a member passes away, he must be replace with either his elder son or one of any of his son as tradition demands. Based on this, Abdul was eye marked by the elders since he use to visit his father’s village in Port Loko alongside his wife Hawa J Kororma. So during that time he was asked to take up his father’s position in society bush.
Reports says that Abdul and his wife Hawa J Kororma were together in his late father resident at night in the village the called Masimrah, Port Loko District, when a set of men from the secret society marched straight into their compound demanding that Abdul to go with them.
During the scuffled, his wife (Hawa J Koroma) was push to ground and her husband was forcefully taken away with societal men chanting initiation chants. But as faith could have Abdul manages to escape from the hands of his capture. It was alleged that during that period, he (Abdul) was expected to fully take up his father’s mantle, late Pa Koroma ), but later news came in that he had escape and to an unknown destination.
Abdul Sahid Koroma narrowly escaped death from the poro bush after refusing to take his late father’s position as one of the member. The report alleged that Abdul, as he is commonly called after an attempt to be forceful initiated in the poro bush, was also told to play his late father’s role which make it unfit for him to escape from the society bush.
According to information, Abdul is currently on the run after he was forced to accept the role of his late father but smartly had to escape from the hands of his initiators.
Other Key members and stakeholders in the town said that it was good that the young man fled from the traditional society, before he took up his father position or else he would have been a dead man by now just like the other boy. Due to compelling inductions of the poro society, it had always caused the death of innocent young men in the country.
What is more of concern about the poro society is that some of the stakeholders are part of the poro society in the country including politicians, police, military personnel and many more serving as active members. As we go to press Abdul has not been found and nobody knows his whereabouts, while his wife was also maltreated.
