SIERRA LEONE-POLITICS: The Battle of Two Cults

By Lansana Fofana Reprint | | Print |

Lansana Fofana

FREETOWN, Feb 18 1997 (IPS) - Sierra Leone’s fragile peace process has been further threatened by the rise of the mystical Jombola cult in the war-ravaged regions of the southern part of the country.

The cult, believed to be made up of more than 300 men and women, has surfaced during the last three months after the signing of the November 1996 peace accord between the government and the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

Operating in the southern districts of Bo, Pujehun and Bonthe, the cult reportedly has left a trail of destruction, and some villagers have been killed by the Jombolas who are believed to possess supernatural powers.

“We are not exactly sure how many people have been killed by cult members who clearly have supernatural powers,” says Pa Santigie Murray Kawa, a 60-year-old resident of Lugbu chiefdom in Bo district, the country’s second largest capital.

“In fact, reports say more than 30 innocent people have so far died at the hands of these terrorists and property estimated at millions of Leones, destroyed in their trail,” Pa Kawa adds.

The Jombolas are believed to possess the power to transform themselves into bats, cats, dogs and other creatures before wrecking havoc on villages.

According to a member of the cult who was captured at the weekend, the Jombolas have a political agenda. “Our objective is to overthrow the government and the local hunters militia — Kamajors — and we are doing this not only by force of arms, but through the power of the dark,” said Vageh Lahai, a 25-year-old member of the cult.

Lahai and another cult member, Momoh Koroma, were captured at the weekend in clashes with the Kamajors in the southern town of Madina in the Lugbu chiefdom.

The Kamajors, who have fought on the side of the government against the RUF rebels, however said that they are not worried by the new cult’s threats. “We don’t think the Jombolas are a major problem,” said Morie Shaka, a spokesperson for the Kamajors.

“Let them go and ask the rebels( of the RUF). We will cripple them completely and show them that the Kamajors are number one in terms of battle tactics and mystic powers,” Shaka added.

Analysts here pointed out that the brewing conflict between the Jombolas and the Kamajors is a battle for supremacy in the wake of the weakening of the national army.

Both groups are said to possess mystical powers. The Kamajors’ mystical powers have been revered in the country, especially in their fight against the RUF rebels.

In his statement to the police in Bo, captured cult member Lahai admitted that the Kamajors had given the Jombolas a hard time. The Jombola’s aim of overthrowing the Kamajors and government, he said, has been largely crippled “by another power as its (the Jombolas’) powers have been largely diluted”.

Also, the Jombolas, the majority of whom come from the same ethnic group as the Kamajor, the Mende, are threatened by the rising military importance of the Kamajors who are reigning supreme in the volatile south eastern regions, some analysts say.

“The vaccum created by the government army’s impotence in holding the rebels at bay, the rising power of the Kamajors, and in fact, the general chaos that has followed the six-year long war, combine to explain the emergence of the Jombolas,” opines political analyst Desmond Williams of the University of Sierra Leone.

Voluntary confessions obtained from the captured cult members reveal an organised pattern of recruitment and a bizarre rite of passage, police in Bo said.

“Our (cult) leader is Pa Kujah, who lives in the southern town of Yambama. About 52 of us were recently initiated, and this number included 25 women,” Lahai, one of the captured Jombolas, said.

Although women are members of the cult, their role appears to be reduced to that of sex objects to entice victims. “We use our womenfolk to overpower male victims, often sexually,” said Koroma, another captured cult member currently helping police with investigations in Bo.

According to terrified residents of the troubled areas, the sight of the transformed cult members when they are going on their military operations, mesmerises victims.

Kamajor leaders have vowed to capture the cult’s leader Pa Kujeh alive and to dislodge the Jombolas from all of their operational bases.

So far, the government has downplayed the Jombola issue and government officials refused to comment. One analyst here predicted that the problem may soon disappear, because the Kamajors will win the campaign for supremacy.

“I think the Kamajors will cripple the Jombolas without much difficulty. Already, they are making headlines, while the role of the military is becoming less prominent. They won’t spare the Jombolas,” said political analyst Sam Vandi.