Usually reliable sources have revealed to this medium that 23-year old Khadija Dumbuya, daughter of Mohamed Dumbuya 50, a trader in used clothing and Mariama Dallah Bah 40, a housewife from Machinta village, Kambia District, northern Sierra Leone has reportedly fled to an undisclosed location for fear of forcefully initiating her son into poro secret society.

According to report, Khadija’s plight started at age 14 when she was forced to marry her own cousin Idrissa Kanu a carpenter.

She has three siblings including a brother and used to be sleeping with her two sisters. Prior to her forceful marriage which is prohibited in Sierra Leone Khadija was attending the Mohannad Jondy-a public primary school and used to play with his brother and sisters something she missed dearly when she got married.

It’s understood that Khadija had slight knowledge about her marriage to Idrissa because he used to give her some gifts like fruits and clothes which her father was aware and approved of.

Idrissa who is now dead, was older than Khadija for almost 10 years and Khadija was his first wife with whom he had his first son Alpha.

As a young girl Khadija was at first excited about the marriage because she completely lacked marriage experience.

Her late husband was a member of the Poro secret society but disapprove of his son becoming a member for obvious reasons. He never talked about it but always try to protect his son from his elder brother Abdul who was desperate to initiate the lad into the society.

Even though poro society is condemned by both human rights activists and religious bodies for being harmful and unholy, yet, its practice remained widespread across the country and many believe its members use witchcraft to perform their initiation rites.

Sources indicate that these desperate society members most often kidnap and take their victims to their bush for initiation and sometimes the process end in fatality.

Khadija’s woes increased following the fatal death of her husband Idrissa who died in a car accident on December 14 2019 on his way home from work.

After her husband’s death Khadija stayed at his family house for 4 months and 10 days as culture and tradition demand after which the widow will be freed to go after taking to a river for final cleansing.

After that, process, Khadija’s father with the least expectation, told her to marry her late husband’s brother Abdul Kanu but Khadija told him to give her a night to reflect. Khadija’s father told her mother to persuade her to marry Abdul which Madam Mariama did but Khadija reported resisted the idea given that the man in question was in desperation to initiate her son into poro even before her husband died.

Sources say, Khadija had one solution in mind to use her husband’s savings and proceeds from the funeral to escape with her son. The morning after the funeral, our source opined that no one knows her whereabouts as she was visibly absent.

It’s no secret that many in Khadija’s situation had faced terrible problems including beating, shaved their heads and sometimes chained until they change their minds. Khadija’s disappearance still remains a mystery as she fears persecution in Sierra Leone.