By Unisa Conteh
Elizabeth Gabriel, a Creole by tribe is reported to have narrowly escaped death from the hands of irate ‘wonday’ society men in Panguma Chiefdom, Kenema district.
According to eye witness account, Elizabeth Gabriel on the 15th October, 2008 visited her family after staying away from the village for a couple of years.
Our eye witness revealed that immediately Elizabeth arrived in the village, she was asked by her family members why she decided to visit them at a time everybody was trying to flee the village because of rampant forceful initiation of men and women into the Wonday and Sanday secret societies respectively.
The eyewitness maintained further that during the time Elizabeth arrived at the village, the forceful initiation of men and women was at its highest peak.
Our sources say, Elizabeth, her siblings and father after revealing the current precarious situation of the village, attempted to escape at night to a nearby big town; but that on their way, the wonday society group halted them in the middle of the bush, Elizabeth and her siblings were allegedly set aside while their father, Emmanuel Joseph Gabriel was asked to join the secret society.
Our sources maintained that, Elizabeth’s father vehemently refused to join and openly challenged the forceful initiation of people, it was at this juncture that he was reportedly scolded, his hand chopped off and mercilessly stabbed to death.
According to our sources, just after the killing of her father, Elizabeth was allegedly raped by some of the society men.
Our sources say, as if that was not enough for the irate society men, they later handed over Elizabeth to the women society, where she was later forcefully initiated by cutting off her clitoris, a process they described as ‘Sanday’Â initiation.
Our sources say, Elizabeth, a day after her clitoris had been cut off, managed to escape to an un known destination.
Village sources say the society men and women searched the entire bushes that night for Elizabeth, but fortunately for her, they couldn’t find a trace of her.
At the time of going to press, the whereabouts of Elizabeth remains unknown.
Family members and friends including the independent media are monitoring the situation.
In Sierra Leone, there is no record of any serious punitive action has been taken by state security or the judiciary on any human rights violations perpetuated by cultural societies in the country.
Acting against their actions is considered a taboo since a vast majority of decision makers and those in authority are members of a secret society, in one way or the other.