The life of Engineer Hassan Yusif Kamara has become the subject of persistent threats from the traditional leaders in the Maforki Chiefdom, Portloko District.
According to reliable information reaching this medium, Hassan being the eldest Son of the late Paramount Chief, PC Bai Forkie Sonka lll’s brother is the immediate heir to the throne which makes it imperative for him to undergo the traditional rites.This according to their tradition the next in line to the thrown is the elder son of the late PC Bai Forkie Sonkoi lll .
Traditional rites in the Maforki Chiefdom, North Western province of Sierra Leone are associated with decapitation of the head of any crowned Paramount Chief.This has created fear in Hassan.
The said elders of the Maforki village are embarking on forcefully crowning Hassan as tradition demands,the reason he is now fleeing for his life for fear of being initiated.
The threats to his life gained more attention when the schedule was published for the crowing of paramount chiefs across the country and Engineer Hassan was to step in his late Uncle’s shoes ,a traditional rites he does not want to undergo. During one occasion he was brutally taken away by the secret cult people on the account that he is the eldest son to his father and therefore he must be initiated in order to inherit his late uncle’s throne.
The elders have insisted that it’s a tradition and every elder male child who came from a Chieftaincy family must go through such traditional rites. It is a very terrific scene as one of the uncles of Hassan by the name of Pa Adekalie Sebereh lamented that Hassan made his point clear that he is no more interested in such a practice as he is now a fervent Muslim which irritated the traditional leaders to want to forcefully drag him to the secret society bush and they have vowed to manhandle him severely.
This press made further investigation and learnt that the initiators have been persistently harassing his life which tempted him at one time to abandon his job and going into hiding. However, as a member of the traditional leaders, Hassan’s uncle Pa Adekalie Sebereh moved to the bush to persuade his colleagues for better option as to how to trace the whereabouts of Engineer Hassan. There seems no let up from threats on Hassan’s life onto when he was posted in Falaba District as District Engineer and things even got worse when the government of Sierra Leone through the local government Ministry published a rescheduled date for the crowning of Paramount Chiefs across the country in 2022 and in the northern region in particular.
Maforki Chiefdom lost its late PC in 2006, and it is the second time the government has come out with a notice for the crowning of a Paramount Chief in that chiefdom.The continuous rescheduling is due to lack of funds but based on relaible information gathered by this press there seems to be more commitment this time by the government to uphold this new date due to the upcoming general elections in 2023.This might be the reason for heightening tension on Hassan’s life.
This development has almost caused him his job as he is always in hiding. On one occasion he was informed by the elders that he risked losing his life if caught and he should rather show himself up willingly so that he faces the traditional leaders once and for all. The entire family is worried about the whereabouts of Hassan. The traditional leaders/ society initiators have vowed to teach Engineer Hassan the lesson of his life should he reappear and the devastating consequences that await him are horrifying
Several Human Rights organizations here in Sierra Leone have condemned the act as being inhuman ,they always receive the assurance of government but nothing has been done in the form of intervention to address such matters.
The stumbling block in such matters has been the fact that most politicians and traditional leaders are key members of the traditional rites. The family members of Hassan are calling on international human rights organizations to intervene or else no one is safe anymore. However, this press gathered that the elders have vowed to continue their search for Hassan and what is more worrying is the fact that Chieftaincy rites are likened to a cult wherein some initiates lose their lives.
