Refusing Forceful Initiation… Abass Conteh Narrowly Escapes Death At The Hands Of Secret Society Members

By Sulaiman Jalloh

Report Reaching Voice of Salone Newspaper from Mapaki village in Bombali District, Northern Sierra Leone, revealed that one young man in the person tof Abass Conteh, narrowly escaped death from secret society members who had forcefully conscripted him for initiation into the Porro Society. Poro Society is a dreadful secret society in that part of the country.

According to our source, an eyewitness living next door to Conteh, a female occupant, stated that Abass Conteh has been living in the said village for quite some time and later left to pursue his Education in Makeni Town, but returned to the village when he had about the demise of his father.

Unknownly to him, when Abass father’s was alive he told stakeholders of the village to initiate his son as the next head of the Poro Secret Society.

This press reliably learnt that on one fateful night, Abass heard strange voices outside his house and upon enquiry to know what happened a group of youngmen descended on him, and bundled him enroute to unknown locations.

Madam Susan (not her real name for security reasons), a resident in the neighborhood informed this medium that she saw the the gallant men overpowered Abass and took him away on one particular night.

She furthered that in the morning hours information went around the village that some of the youths in the village had been taken away for initiation by secret society members.

It is important to note that Poro society is male dominated society that does not permeate women to ask questions or even served as witness, and the consequences for such will be dead penalty or curse their family.

Another youth (name withheld for his security reasons) who is a member of the society, informed this medium that whilst Abass Conteh was in a house where he had been kept for awhile before being move to the society bush where he supposed to undergo the initiation such as: beating and drinking of traditional medicine.

In the society bush, Abass Conteh, destroyed all the medicine that was given to him and as a result of that, he was tired in a room, but one of her stepsister had him crying and came to his rescue.

Her sister intervention led Abass to be set free and paved the way for him to escape through the window of the house to seek refuse in a nearby village called Masongbo, information reveals.

The society members arrived at the scene immediately and barricaded the surrounding bush and villages in search of Abass Conteh, but to no avail.

They later returned to Abass house in search of him, but he was nowhere to be found.

After that efforts proved futile, they then warned the family members of Abass to desist from hiding their son or risk of facing the consequences of their action which is death.

The Society Members explained Abass Conteh had seen what they are doing in their sacred shrine and that he should not be let to go scot free.

Abass, should at all cost be initiated or face death if he refuses to be initiated, the Society Members insisted.

The Lady who rescued disclosed to this press that Abass is at large and intelligence received disclosed that the latter’s is in hiding in Kambia but later crossed over to neighboring Country called Guinea on 10th December 2022.

Family members who spoke to this newspaper that say that since the abduction of Abass by secret society members, they were unable to set eyes on him, neither do they know his whereabouts.

The Family said that they only had about the disappearance of Abass when members of the Secret Society came to their house in search for him, after being escaped from their custody three days ago.

When asked why they did not report the matter to the police, the family revealed that almost all the officers and the elders in the village are aware of the disappearance of Abass, but they are not doing anything other than promises to look for him.

Family members say that on several occasions, the society members had visited their house and issued threatening remarks to kill Abass Conteh when he is found.

In many parts of the country, initiation into secret societies is sanctioned by tradition, and elders cooperate fully.

Women do not have a say on such matter, as they too have their own secret societies.

While members of such societies claimed that this system is their rite of passage to manhood, their rituals often resulted to death of some of their recruits, due to the inhumane traditional practices and as a result, alot of young men avoid being conscripted for initiation into Secret Society.

This inhumane traditional practice has not been largely condemned by the government, and there is outright denial that such things do not happen.

As we go to press, the whereabouts of Abass Conteh is still unknown and the search for him by the secret society continues unabated.