Twenty Three year old Godwin Kanu David, who escaped from Makabie Village Bombali District Northern Province of Sierra Leone in February, 2019 is nowhere to be found. According to reliable sources, Godwin Kanu David and his friends including some family members were trying to avoid forceful enlistment into a certain secret cult traditional society known here in Sierra Leone as the Poro Society.
Godwin Kanu David friends and few family members who should be initiated into the Poro Society got an intelligent information that few boy’s died during the fearful Initiations and there erupted a serious fracas between them try to enlisted them into the Poro secret cult traditional society forcefully since his Father Pa Kanu Elias Pa Yamba was also a strong member. Godwin faced lots of confrontations, as he was badly tortured and beaten mercilessly by some senior Poro Society members. Luckily he was able to sneaked in the nearby bush with some of his friends who were to be enlisted into the Poro Society travel to other villages and town escaping for their life.
The Source informed this medium that the latter and the former were defiant to be part of a society that they alleged some people who go through it do not survive this dreadful Initiations.
In Sierra Leone in general and Makabie Village in particular, it is very difficult to see full grown up men who do not belong to traditional societies like Poro, wande and gbabani and also it is impossible to be a traditional Chief or sometimes a honorable members of parliament and senior Lawyer and judges without going through a secret society which is purely evil and devilish. The Poro Society is a very popular traditional secret society that is well known in Sierra Leone and has majority of the country political and traditional authorities. It is candidly and widely believed that people can be forcefully conscripted without any court action by the victim due to the fact 40% to 45% of the male population especially from some indigenous tribes excluding the Fulas, Mandingo and Krio are members.
There are evidential reports that Godwin Kanu David is not dead but made his way to an unknown destination just like some other men who were threatened by some traditional society members. It is a norm that every member of a secret cult society must also make sure that his male children also be part of it. This is normally done to maintain the tradition as generation yet unborn are expected to follow the same trend. Even though traditional secret society enlisted takes place mainly during the festive seasons. Yet someone who goes against the secret society bylaws either by making utterances or breaking a taboo can still go through emergency initiations, face death or pay heavy fines accordingly, to what the head of the society determine. It should be depicted that despite the fact some people can be forced, apparently there are also many other young men who are initiated willingly because they want to live peacefully and normal life in a conducive atmosphere where they don’t have to hide or abandon their town, village or home due to secret societies activities.
Meanwhile any person whose name is on the list to be enrolled into the secret society cannot have any other options but to accepts or abandon the village for a life time. No one cannot seek redress in any judicial court under the traditional law. Like also female genital mutilation which is common among women in most parts of Africa, the Poro, gbabani and wande societies is the replica just like the way in which young girls are forcefully conscripted, the Poro, wande and gbabani societies is no exceptions. Majority of our young girls are also suffering from similar acts from Bondo women who conduct dreadful female genital mutilation on young girls despite international efforts to eliminate and combat female genital mutilation. It is totally forbidden for a non member who goes against such bylaws can be enlisted forcefully and also charged to pay fines or face extra judicial killing. Some family members are still doubting and asking questions where is the were about of Godwin Kanu David a well known practice and devout pious Christian
