By: Alhaji Turay*
A Sierra Leonean woman who is now seeking international protection in Ireland has narrated a harrowing story of how her younger sister allegedly died following a traditional initiation ceremony in Kondeya Village, Kono District, and how the tragedy forced her to flee the country.
In her account sent to this medium, Sia Mattia said her younger sister,
Alice Mattia, who was under the age of 18, died on 4th June 2026 at Josiah Memorial Hospital, Regent Road, Lumley, in Freetown, a day after she was taken through the traditional society’s initiation process.
According to Sia, Alice was living with their aunty at the time she was taken to the ceremony on 3rd June 2026. During the cutting procedure, she allegedly suffered severe bleeding.
“She began bleeding heavily after the cutting. The situation became extremely serious. Alice did not survive,” Sia said in her statement.
GRIEF TURNED TO ANGER
Sia said Alice’s death devastated her, especially because she believed it could have been prevented. She said she could not accept that a young girl could lose her life because of a traditional practice.
She said the ceremony was conducted by members and leaders of the traditional society, commonly referred to as the Sowei, using an ordinary razor blade or similar cutting instrument.
Overwhelmed by grief and anger, Sia said she confronted the situation in a way that has now placed her own life in danger. She alleged that she, together with other people, went to the place where the ceremony was taking place and burnt down the traditional ceremony house, known as the ‘bondo bush’, including the traditional equipment used for the ceremony.
“I was not thinking clearly because I was devastated by the loss of my sister. I accept that this action was serious. I am not presenting myself as someone who handled the situation correctly,” she said.
She said she was later physically attacked by members of the traditional society.
CONFLICT WITH FAMILY
Sia also said she experienced serious conflict with some family members because some of them supported or accepted the traditional practice.
“I felt that the people around me were treating my sister’s death as part of an accepted tradition, whereas I regarded it as the loss of a young person’s life,” she said.
FLED TO FREETOWN, REPORTED TO POLICE
Fearing retaliation, Sia said she left Kono and travelled to Freetown to seek safety and report the matter to the authorities.
She said she went to Lumley Police Station and made a report concerning her sister’s death, her opposition to the practice, and her fear for her own safety.
She said she is willing to provide any police documentation, reference number, witness information or other material to support that she approached the authorities.
FEAR DID NOT END IN FREETOWN
Despite being in Freetown, Sia said she still did not feel safe. She claimed that people connected to the traditional society could locate her, and that she could be attacked, abducted, forced into traditional practices, or otherwise harmed because of her opposition and her involvement in the burning incident.
“I did not believe that moving from Kono to another part of Sierra Leone would provide me with permanent protection,” she said.
JOURNEY TO IRELAND
While in Freetown, Sia said she met a person she understood to be an agent who could assist people in danger. She explained her circumstances to the agent, who later assisted her to leave Sierra Leone.
She said she travelled from Freetown to Guinea-Conakry, continued her journey, and eventually arrived in Belfast. From Belfast, she was placed on a bus travelling to Dublin, Ireland, where she is now seeking international protection.
CALL FOR INVESTIGATION
This medium is calling on the Sierra Leone Police, the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs, and human rights organisations to investigate the alleged death of Alice Mattia and the circumstances surrounding the initiation ceremony in Kondeya Village, Kono District.
This medium also calls for protection for girls under 18 from harmful traditional practices, in line with the laws of Sierra Leone and international human rights conventions.
