Reports from the east end of Freetown, reveal that one Abdul Kamara, residing at 55 Koroma Street, Calaba Town, narrowly escaped death at the hands of angry youths after he was caught red-handed by his girlfriend having sex with a fellow man in his room at the said house.
Eye witnesses who spoke to this medium explained that they heard Abdul Kamara’s girlfriend, Kadijah, raise an alarm, and when youths ran to the house, they discovered both Abdul and his friend, Augustine, were stark naked. Both men are said to have been mercilessly beaten by the angry youths when they discovered that they were having same sex, an act that is a taboo in Sierra Leonean culture.
According to Kadijah, Abdul’s girlfriend, she has a key to Abdul’s house and knew Augustine as Abdul’s friend, but never had any inclination that both of them were gay. She furthered that on that fateful day, 4th August 2023, she had left the house to visit one of her friends at Lumley in the west end of Freetown, where she was to spend sometime, as her friend was sick.
She continued that after going halfway on the journey, she remembered that she had forgotten the medication that she had bought for her friend and decided to return to collect it. She furthered that she was not expecting to meet Abdul at home because he had told her that he too was going out and wouldn’t be back until late in the night. She explained how shocked she was when, after opening the front door, she caught Abdul and Augustine in the room, naked and making love. She then raised the alarm, which brought neighbors and youths pouring into the house and the compound. She had no regrets that both men were beaten by the youths, but regretted that Abdul escaped. She stressed that the community has mounted a man-hunt for him and when caught, he will face the consequences.
Sources revealed that Abdul was able to escape through the window in the house and jumped into a nearby river at the back of the house, pursued by the youths, but not many of them took the risk of swimming across the stretch of the river.
However, they maintained that information has filtered that he has reached the town of Lungi in the Port Loko District and the youths and community elders have alerted others in Lungi to apprehend him.
Sierra Leone does not have any law that protects the act of same sex, but society and religious bodies frown at such activities, describing them as demonic, and persons caught in such acts are termed as evil-possessed. No mercy is given to them. In many cases, they are beaten to death, in other cases, they are taken to remote forest for cleansing, which ultimately ends up in their disappearance.
There have been growing concerns regarding issues of gay, lesbianism, bisexual and transgender in the country, as government , religious leaders openly condemn such acts, describing them as demonic, satanic and ungodly. Though Sierra Leone remains a secular state, the issue of same sex marriage, which is a human rights issue in the western world, has been unwelcome in the country.
The government bastardized the attempt was made to legalize same sex marriage and was also resisted by religious leaders, especially as they have large followers.
It could be recalled that over 50 people have suffered inhumane treatment for practicing same sex in Sierra Leone, and there are reported cases of individuals who have been lynched, stigmatized and banished from their localities for being either gay, lesbian or transgender.
In the words of Sheik Abubakarr Conteh, a revered Muslim cleric, he described same sex as evil and demonic and should not be allowed to take root in the country: “There’s no way we can support such immoral acts in our country. This should not be tolerated. We must let the government know that immoral acts of such nature are against the wish of the Almighty Allah. So anyone involved in such an act should not be allowed to live”, he is quoted to have told worshippers at Friday Prayers.
Bishop Archibald Cole, a prominent Christian leader, also in one of his public lectures, condemned the act of same sex. He called on the government to keenly listen to the advice of religious leaders.
However, as we go to press, reports from Lungi say that Abdul has absconded and gone into hiding and his whereabouts are unknown, yet the search for him continues, as the community and the youths vowed to rid the country of what they describing as Satan personified in their midst.
