Mosques and churches are under lock and key in Kenema town in the Eastern region owing to ‘Bondo’ Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) initiation, a move seen as a real affront to the West and the United States.
‘Bondo,’ a cult society to indigenous tribes in Sierra Leone, is seen as a rite of passage for girls to transition into womanhood, and Christianity, one of the Abrahamic faiths, is central to Europe (the West) and the United states.
The identity of Western nations and the US is incomprehensible without Christianity, and the Sierra Leone has got a fair share of financial resources that Europe donate to African countries to end FGM, But Sierra Leone appears to have chosen a different path quite lately.
Owing to the ‘Bondo’ initiation, no resident in Kenema observes the Sunday mass and muslims too were equally affected as everyone stays indoors. The lockdown of Kenema by ‘Bondo’ women is a bit strange and bizzare especially when carried out in daytime and in a city centre. In normal times, it happens in remote villages late at night to avoid discomforting others.
Businesses too were also shut down as no shop opened to ply the usual trade. The total lockdown in Kenema town which took place last Sunday, the first in Sierra Leone’s recent history, went on for a day with residents kept in a state of fear and panic.
Sunday, in recent times, is a less busy day in Sierra Leone as Christians attend churches to worship God, but others find their way to the markets and streets to sell their goods as socio-economic situation worsens every day.
A journalist (name withheld for fear of reprisals), resident in Kenema district, who share his findings with Nightwatch press confirms that “mosques and churches in central Kenema were shut down for a day as nothing went on.”
Apart from discomforting worshippers, pupils who should attend school on Sunday were also kept home for fear of kidnapping or ritual murders.
Traffic was also brought to a sudden halt as drivers and commercial motorists (okada riders) were asked to stay at home or incurred the wrath of the ‘Bondo leaders’ known as ‘soweis’ if they venture out into the streets.
Cultic show which started in the early hours of the morning continued till midnight creating suffering for those who eke a living through petty trading.
It was also a watershed moment for the disabled and the abject poor who go outside asking for alms. A Kenema resident and ardent christian, Lucy Brima told this press that it was really not easy for her to be kept at home for all-day long.
“I am not a member of the ‘Bondo’ society and could not go out to either buy condiments to cook food for my children or even cooked food on the streets. The ‘Bondo’ would take hostage any non-initiate who go out in the streets that day,” she narrated her ordeal adding that she and her children went to bed hungry.
Isatta Kargbo, a petty trader in Kenema town also suffered almost the same way as she could not go out to sell her goods last Sunday. It was really a tough moment for her.
“Last Sunday, I could not take my goods to the market centre to sell since ‘Bondo’ women took over the streets; no business means no food at home,” she recounted her sad story.
Drivers are better off, but commercial motorists (‘okada’ riders) also narrated a sad story as they could not ply the streets to carry out their usual trade.
One of the riders in Kenema town, Ibrahim Mansaray told this press that he lost a lot for not carrying out his business last Sunday.
“Sundays are busy days for us as ‘okada’ riders as we take commuters from different points to the churches and take them from churches to their homes. We also do business with women who came to buy condiments to and from the market centres,” he explained adding that it was not the case for last Sunday in Kenema.
As victims vent out their grievances for the Sunday discomfort, Sierra Leone’s first lady and local stakeholders have been accused of facilitating the Kenema Lockdown but could not be reached to get their own side of the story.
According to investigation gathered by this press, it was clear that the people of Kenema were not properly informed ahead of the ‘Bondo’ masquerade to get them better prepared for their welfare needs.
A South-Easterner in the diaspora seems deeply concerned about restrictions imposed on the Kenema residents by ‘Bondo’ authorities particularly for obstructing the Sunday worship. In a widely shared video on social media platforms, Alhaji Kanneh dissuaded his people from taking part in acts that would hurt the international community, that is, the United States and European countries.
He also reminded the people of Kenema about negative utterances made by Sierra Leone’s Chief Minister, David Moinina Sengeh against the two faiths by accusing mosques and churches of theft.
Sengeh was blunt to say that pastors and imams steal electricity, the first allegation ever to be made against the clergy and the congregations of the two religions.
Sounding highly defeatist in the state governance project, David Sengeh also desecrated one of God’s respected prophets by stating that “Sierra Leone will still remain in her dire state even if Jesus Christ comes down here.”
The statement was a shock to many Sierra Leoneans as no government, at a particular moment, ever disrespected the two religions.
By the time the religious leaders and their followers could heal from the emotional wounds inflicted on them by the Chief Minister, the ‘Bondo’ imbroglio was also used against the people of Sierra Leone.
For many Sierra Leoneans, government’s support to the ‘Bondo’ society was no surprise as President Julius Maada Bio himself had ordered the closure of all mosques and churches during what many referred to as an illegal and controversial state of emergency.
For a month, no worshipper was allowed in a church or mosque but bars and restaurants remain opened and congested throughout the night.
The order also generated heated debates in the public domain criticising government for an arbitrary action that badly affects the people’s religious rights. The criticisms against the PAOPA regime became intense so much that since no one was reported to have contracted Corona virus in any mosque.
In spite of the vilification of the Bio regime over the closure of churches and mosques, no clergy raised a comment owing to fear of arrest and detention.
As the sores are being healed, the Bondo phenomenon surfaces again to make matters worse.
‘Bondo’ initiations, according to social commentators, violate the right to movement guaranteed by the Constitution of Sierra Leone, 1991.
Section 18 of the Constitution says “no person shall be deprived of his freedom of movement and…the said freedom means the right to move freely throughout Sierra Leone, the right to reside in any part of Sierra Leone and the right to enter or leave Sierra Leone and immunity from expulsion from Sierra Leone.”
It is not yet clear whether the people of Kenema would seek redress in the courts for interfering with their basic right.
As the people of Sierra Leone condemn the ‘Bondo’ society for restricting on their freedom of movement, others see it as mere distraction by the PAOPA regime to take the people’s mind off from the impending recommendations of the Tripartite Committee, a body set up to look into alleged irregularities of the June 24, 2023 elections.
It has been reported by several news channel that the Bio regime has been exploring avenues to legitimise and stabilise his embattled government which enjoyed little local and international recognition.
But, and the but part of it, the struggle gets tough every passing day and the only way out is to come up with distractions with ‘Bondo’ being the most prominent.