A Sierra Leonean couple fled their community and later left the country after the husband allegedly disrupted his wife’s forced initiation into a Bondo society, amid fears that members of the group could regroup and attack them, according to people close to the family.
Mohamed Kamara and his wife, Isatu Fullah, travelled to Rogbin in Karene District on 21 June 2025 after Isatu received an urgent call from her mother.
The couple had left their child behind.
According to an account provided by a close friend of Kamara, Isatu’s mother asked to speak privately with her shortly after they arrived. When Isatu failed to return after about 30 minutes, Kamara followed the path she had taken.
He reportedly found his wife’s hair weave and slippers on the ground and heard drums, singing and dancing coming from an area he believed was a Bondo initiation bush.
Kamara allegedly entered the bush carrying a stick and found four people preparing his wife for initiation.
According to the account, he struck one of them with the stick, causing the others to flee, before destroying the Bondo bush and escaping with his wife.
But the confrontation did not end there.
People close to the family said members of the Bondo group later regrouped, raising fears that a mob could be mobilised against Kamara and his wife.
The couple decided to flee.
On 22 June 2025, they reportedly returned to retrieve their child from where the child had been left before leaving the country.
The current whereabouts of the family are unknown. However, sources close to the matter said they were understood to have travelled to neighbouring Guinea.
The account has not independently established whether a mob was actually formed or whether the family was subsequently physically attacked.
The incident nevertheless highlights a broader and sensitive issue in Sierra Leone: the risks faced by people who challenge Bondo initiation and female genital mutilation, or FGM, in communities where the practice remains deeply rooted.
Bondo has a long-standing place in Sierra Leonean society and is regarded by many communities as an important traditional institution. That cultural significance can make opposition to the practice particularly difficult, especially when individuals challenge initiation within their own families or communities.
For those who reject FGM or refuse Bondo initiation, the consequences can extend beyond disagreement. People familiar with the practice say opponents may face social pressure, family conflict and fears of physical or spiritual retaliation.
Such fears are also linked to deeply held traditional beliefs surrounding Bondo and its authority. Claims of spiritual attacks are matters of belief and cannot be independently established as factual events, but the fear of such consequences can itself influence people’s decisions and behaviour.
The Kamara case raises questions about what protection is available to people who find themselves in conflict with Bondo societies or who oppose FGM.
The challenge is complicated by the cultural status of Bondo. For many Sierra Leoneans, it is not viewed simply as a question of FGM, but as part of a wider traditional system involving community identity, social relationships and rites of passage.
That can create a difficult environment for people seeking to reject practices associated with initiation, particularly where they believe doing so could expose them to retaliation or social isolation.
The case therefore brings together several competing issues: the right of an individual to refuse a practice, the authority of families and traditional institutions, the preservation of cultural traditions and the state’s responsibility to protect people who fear harm.
According to UNFPA, 83% of women aged 15–49 in Sierra Leone have undergone FGM, based on the 2019 Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey. In Karene District, the reported prevalence was 98%, one of the highest district-level rates recorded in the survey.
FGM is associated with serious health consequences, including severe pain, bleeding, infection and complications during childbirth. Its effects can also be psychological and social.
UNFPA and other organisations working on the issue have supported community engagement and alternative initiation approaches aimed at preserving aspects of traditional ceremonies without FGM.
But the reported experience of the Kamara family demonstrates the difficulty of challenging a practice embedded in community life.
What began, according to the account, as an attempt by a husband to stop his wife from being initiated ended with the destruction of a Bondo bush, fears of a possible mob attack, the retrieval of their child and the family’s flight from Sierra Leone.
Their current whereabouts remain unknown, although sources say they are understood to have travelled to Guinea.
