Haja Aminata Narrowly Escaped Death from Secret Society Heads

By Father Aliko

This Writer has been reliably informed that Haja Aminata Sesay who hailed from Bombali District, Northern Province of Sierra Leone, belonging to the Temne tribe, grew up in the rigid hands of her stepmother and uneducated Father in a native home. It is said that her parents were so much into culture , tribal societies and rituals. Her step Mother who was known as her biological Mother was the Head(Sowei) of the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Society, commonly known as Bondo and as a child, Haja was completely ignorant of the activities embedded in such a cruel Society when her step Mother decided to initiate her into the society and was named the small sowei(Nafat). Knew not the repercussions behind what was happening to her, Haja Aminata Sesay was excited mingling with elders of the Bondo Society, though she was completely deprived of been educated. Eye witnesses confided to this Media House that at her infant stage, her classmates and age mates were afraid of playing with her due to the sacred roles she has been playing in the Society bush and she was segregated. That they confirmed, led to the end of her schooling. Her childhood was stolen away from her due to the fact that her age mates were finding it difficult to mingle with her, except elders within the society.

However, it was revealed that Haja left her homeland at the age of 12 due to the Rebel war. She moved with her family to the capital city, Freetown, where her stepmother continued with her traditional practice (Bondo Society). Intimate sources updated that after the war, her family returned to their native land but Haja refused to go with them due to the stigma she has been going through when she was with them at the village. It was unearthed that Sesay fell in love with a gentleman in the city and later gave birth to a daughter. Unfortunately, their relationship ended as a result of the stigma associated with her traditional practice( Small sowei).

According to reliable sources, Haja Aminata refused to go with her parents to the village again because she wanted to live like other girls in the city and that they did not know much about her Secret Society activities. She decided to run from the house where they were residing and stayed with her friends. Since then, they say she was living in Freetown not until when her stepmother passed away on 10th September 2019. As tradition demands, she was left with no better option than to attend the funeral ceremony of her stepmother. Upon her arrival at the village, the whole groups of women in the village surrounded her, singing and waiving their clothes around her, took her to the shrine and presented her with the society box containing the secret. Haja Aminata was forced to take over the thrown since her stepmother is no more. They were pinpointing that she is the Heir to the throne and it is compulsory on her to replace her deceased stepmother. Sources close to the society women told this Writer that Haja Aminata accepted their offer for the safety of her Life. It was a do or die battle, as they were determined to wipe her off if any resistance was faced. Thereafter, the processes begun and at the climax of the initiation, she was given a sharp sword and ordered to cut off the head of her deceased stepmother they called bunkas after some ceremonial chants. That moment was full of agony as she fell unconscious whilst the elders were singing and yelling over her for such an Heroinic display. That nightmare stayed with Haja Aminata as she had no better option. She was kept for a week in the shrine but she was scared, devastated and out of this World for been forced to cut off her late stepmother’s head in that inhumane manner.

By and large, Haja Aminata thought of a brilliant idea to get out of that dreadful scene. Authentic sources disclosed that she sorrowfully appealed to them that her daughter is living a wayward Life all by herself in the city and her step son who was supposed to be in school was there with her. And that she was kindly asking for permission to go sort out her children’s affairs but promised to return since the process was ongoing. She only asked for two(2) weeks but never returned. It was a logical exit strategy they say. After a month she was no where to be found and they quickly jumped into conclusion that their potential Sowei had deceived them and that is an abomination to their society. Anonymous sources revealed that traditional Memorandums were passed across secret society shrines all over the Country, in desperate search of Haja Aminata Sesay- the Heir to their throne. Unfortunately, she was unable to be caught as she was hiding from one undisclosed location to another until she finally left the shores of Sierra Leone on 15th December 2019. If captured, they had decided to slide off her head for deceiving them on false pretences.