Secret Society Threatens Hawa Swaray & Son

By: Ahmed Yusuf Turay

In the heart of Futa Pegie Chiefdom, Pujehun District, a dreaded female secret society, ‘the Bondo’, has declared Hawa Swaray wanted after escaping from the secret society shrine in some remote forest in the Chiefdom.

According to sources, Hawa Swaray was identified by her late mother to replace her in the traditional role as Sowei of the dreaded Bondo secret society, whose activities include Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a tradition tied to ancestral obligations and widely practiced in the country. Hawa Swaray and her son Saidu Baimba Swaray, have reportedly gone into hiding after escaping from the shrine. She is said to have collected her son, who was staying with her friend when she was called to attend a meeting at her aunt’s house. It was disclosed that while at the said meeting, which was held at night, some elders of the secret society arrived and abducted her, dragging her away from the house to their society shrine located in the forest.

Our source, a known member of the said society, but who spoke to this medium on basis of anonymity, explained that Hawa was tied to a tree in the shrine and only managed to escape when she faked being pressed to defecate. It was then that she was untied and taken by an elderly member to a nearby stream. Feigning weak and helpless, the elderly woman tried to help her undress,. She is said to have pushed the woman into the stream and made good her escape. When the members of the secret society got the alarm from the old woman, they pursued her, but she was long gone.

After their pursuit proved futile, they then came to her house in search of her. Family sources say that it was only when the angry members came to the house that they knew that Hawa had escaped. They furthered that when they went to her friend’s house, they were told that Hawa had collected her son and hurriedly left the house.

Family members explained that according to longstanding customs of the family lineage, it was decreed that upon the death of her mother, the respected matriarch and head of the secret society—her daughter, Hawa Swaray, would inherit the leadership mantle. The role is deeply spiritual and symbolic within the cultural heritage of the Futa Pegie community, where secret societies still wield considerable influence in matters of tradition, spirituality, and local governance.

According to sources close to the secret society, an agreement had been reached for Hawa Swaray to succeed her mother as head, as she had been her favorite daughter. This, they said, was unanimously agreed by the entire family, with little consideration for her consent. In traditional society, the girl child has no say in her future, and decisions arrived at concerning her future are final and non-negotiable. Thus, when Hawa, who was now grown up, vehemently rejected the decision made for her to replace her mother, which entails rigorous traditional rites, with far reaching health implications, the members of the secret society and traditional hardliners were very angry and planned to forcefully initiate her.

Our source further disclosed that the head of the Sowei position is the highest level of the secret society and entails rigorous traditional rites, and there has been incidents where chosen members have not been able to make it alive from the initiation. Unfortunately, the excuse family members of the victims have been given is that their deity had set the victims for higher service. Their remains are not given to the families, and there is the belief that they are still alive and serving their Gods, wielding mystical powers.

Her refusal sparked outrage among members of the secret society and local traditional authorities, who view her decision as a direct defiance of cultural duty, and a threat to the continuity of age-old customs. They vowed to get her to abide by the tradition or face the consequences.

Family members say that since her escape on that fateful day, her whereabouts are unknown. Homes of her known friends were raided, with threats issued against them by members of the society, who maintained that no one enters the secret place of their shrine without fulfilling the initiation rites of that particular office will go unpunished.

According to sources in the Futa Pegie Chiefdom, both Hawa and her son, Saidu Baimba Swaray, have been declared “wanted” by members of the society, triggering fears for their safety.

Meanwhile, community elders and traditional leaders have established a search party, that has gone into the neighboring villages in search of her. Hardliners in the district have vowed to find her and teach her a lesson, a term used for elimination of wanted persons. A nationwide search has been mounted and affiliate secret societies have been urged to track her down.

As we go to press the whereabouts of Hawa Swaray and her son are still unknown, and the search for them by members of the secret society continues. Homes of her known friends have been continually raided and threats of mysterious deaths befalling anyone hiding them have been issued.