27-year-old Amadu Wurie Bundu in the Northern Province of the Republic of Sierra Leone, in the Port Loko District has reportedly escaped forceful Poro initiation, for fear of being killed.
According to tradition, the penalty for dodging or escaping the call for initiation into the Poro Society is death by hanging in the Poro bush and the blood of the deceased is used to appease the gods and their forefathers and it is also considered as sacrilege or affront to members of the Poro Society.
According to sources in Port Loko District that preferred anonymity, referred to the forceful Poro Society initiation as barbaric, devilish and inhuman. Our sources further added that, most of the young people who decided to refuse to heed to the call of members of the Poro Society as successors of their parents are killed like animals in the Poro Bush. Just like others, after the death of the late grandfather of 27-year-old Amadu Wurie Bundu, the younger son of the Bundu family Mohamed Bundu was named as the successor of the late man but he ran away to an unknown location.
After several weeks of searching for him but to no avail, our sources disclosed that, 27-year-old Amadu Wurie Bundu was named to take the place of his younger brother but he refused and whilst trying to escape one of the members of the Poro Society threw cutlass that hit him on his right hand and he sustained severe cut but he managed to escape to an undisclosed location, just like his younger brother. Our sources further added that, in desperation members of the Poro Society decided to go in search of Amadu Wurie Bundu. Our sources further narrated that, in the process ten youths were killed because they suspected that they supported Amadu Wurie Bundu to escape from them.
Our sources further that, when the matter was reported to the Local Unit Commander of the Port Loko Police Station he referred to the matter as purely traditional matter and there is nothing they can do.
When this medium contacted the Local Unit Commander, he declined to comment on the issue.
