News from Kalangba has intimated this medium that Lahai Bangura, who was ticked to be the heir to his father’s throne, has been declared wanted by the Traditional Chiefs within the township.
Times SL’s Northern Correspondent, Mohamed Koroma, reporting from Makeni, Bombali District, gathered that, at a meeting held at Kalangba , Traditional Chiefs within the Loko Chiefdom have declared one Lahai Bangura wanted for deliberately refusing to show up for the initiation, which will automatically make him succeed his late father.
The meeting ended in a fiasco as some of Bangura’s relatives were not in support of the local authorities.
Our investigation uncovered that Bangura’s late father, Kandeh Bangura, was the traditional Loko Chief in Kalangba, and during his reign, he had ticked Lahai Bangura, his eldest son, as his heir to the throne.
Our investigation unearthed traditional practices that have been followed to the letter, where the crowning of Ceremonial and Traditional Chiefs are tied to certain rituals, which involves human sacrifice.
There has been reported cases of deaths in the process of initiation, and majority believe that tradition and customs must be followed. It was learnt that after the death of late Pa Kandeh Bangura, Lahai Bangura, who resides in Freetown, travelled to the provinces to witness the burial of his father. Few days after the burial, a team of traditional Chiefs went to the house of the late chief and had a meeting with the family. The essence of the meeting, according to our investigation, was to discuss the succession plan of Lahai Bangura, who had been tipped to be the heir to rightfully take over the throne of the cheiftaincy, as tradition demands. The meeting, which started with prayers as per tradition, ended in chaos, as Lahai was reported to have turned down the offer on the grounds of he being a Muslim and does not want to associate his faith to secret societies. This statement, according to investigation, did not go down well with the local authorities, who considered Lahai’s utterances as an affront to them and the traditional authorities.
Part of the discussion during the meeting was for Lahai to get prepared ahead of the initiation date, which was after the 40th Day Ceremony of his late father. There, he will be taken to a secluded secret bush, where the rituals and other ceremonies for the ascension to the throne will be performed. In the course of such development, one is asked to provide certain items, including human body parts, which will be used for the sacrifice. Lahai, according to our investigation, has a child, Marie Riema Bangura, with one of his fiancées in Freetown, Zainab kurice, and does not want to lose that child, as it is believed that this could also be one among many reasons for his decision to turn down the offer. Tradition also demands that part of the human sacrifice which should be offered to the gods in the secret bush could either be a child of the person to be initiated, or in the case of those who do not have a child, they are usually asked to sacrifice a dearly beloved one, often their mother or sister. This has been the case with the tradition over the years. Also, there is the belief that undergoing such rituals will pave the way for success and prevent any harm from the gods against the family.
Few days after the unsuccessful meeting, Lahai returned to Freetown without the knowledge of the local authority, and this led to the kidnapping of his mother, Fatmata Bangura, who was mourning her husband. When Lahai heard the news of his mother’s kidnap by the authorities, he immediately came to Kalangba to secure the releaee of his mother. He was taken to the Secret bush to undergo severe punishment for his refusal, and his mother was released to go home. At the secret bush, Lahai managed to escape and later disappeared. News of his disappearance became topical, as a manhunt was mounted in search for him. He was declared wanted by the authorities who had placed a bounty of two cows, 2 carnel of palm oil and other items, if seen and handed to the local authorities.
The current acting cheif, Pa Mohamed Kamara, is said to have summoned an emergency meeting calling on his subjects to respect tradition and obey rules governing them. If seen, Lahai will spend sometime in detention and will have no option than to be forcefully initiated into the chieftaincy.