Everything Liberia

Traditional/Secret Societies; Some Legal Issues

 

Nearly every indigenous tribe in Liberia has a form or another of this- secret society. The Sande or Poro secret society (commonly called Grebo Bush) has always been an integral part of our culture. However, for nearly as long as they have existed, their power has been marked by abuses of different kinds. Now this observation does not mean that these groups were only this; for there are many other aspects of life that were affected positively by these secret societies. This point is important as well.

 

Since fear and secrecy have been primary in keeping the societies in power it is expected that much of its activities would be hushed or so they would want all to believe. It is often told how one will die if one reveals the secrets of the society. This factor has in and of itself helped to solidify their power. But what remains interesting is that there is seemingly no checks on the leaders of these groups, at least not legally. They fall under customary law, but are somehow above the authority of the chiefs. So in effect they have a free rein to conduct business as usual. Now one may ask how is this possible in Liberia, but the answer is simple; the nation has a dual law system; both of which come into conflict at times leaving a wide gray area for criminals to walk free. They can commit crimes and walk depending on where/what the crime is.

 

1. For example, it is known that in these groups females and males are mutilated. Their private parts are removed (FGM). It is further said that these parts are cooked and fed to them. The reason(s) this is done have been varied and many so we will try avoiding them. The key legal problem with this is, these are minors and as such can’t give consent. The parent’s is not sufficient if any harm will befall the child. So if the parent(s) or guardian(s) do offer what passes as consent, it is still a violation of the law. It is known that by removing some or part of the child’s genitalia may cause psychological and physical harm in the future to that child when they become sexually active.

2. There are also incidences where children are abducted by the ‘devil’ and taken to the ‘bush’. In these cases no parental consent is gotten. This particular case brings out another legal problem-kidnapping. There is no known remedy for this problem in any customary law. The question of how will this be redressed is still not even asked in our system. It is not even allowed to be asked. However under common law the crime of kidnapping is addressable. So how will acts of crime committed under customary law be redressed in the formal legal system without bringing up some conflict? This means that children and parents who have fallen victims of such crimes have no definite way to seek redress. So the status quo has been one where kidnappers walk free and are even allowed to continue their practice. There are no known documented case(s) (as far as I am concerned) of anyone filing a case against these culprits.   

3.  It is also a fact that some of these girls are marked on some parts of their bodies. A blade or some other sharp instrument is used to make these marks. It is sometimes said that the children with the most marks are the ones or were the ones who were ‘naughty’, hence they got the lion’s share of these markings. This, later in life, may lead to some psychological issues in these victims. They do not comfortably dress for fear of how others may bully and mock them. This renders a good number of these victims to have low self esteem. Not only were they somewhat forced into this society but they also have to bear the stigma for the rest of their lives.

4. Another issue particularly relating to these marking is that of hygiene. It is also known that the instrument(s) used in these rituals are not changed until they practically are unable to function. In an era where STDs, aids and other sexually transmitted diseases are widespread in our part of the world, this practice is detrimental to society, at least large parts of it. The risk of infection is so high. And it is a guarantee that if the instrument(s) gets infected the whole batch and possible those after them, will fall victim to similar horrible fate. Now to think that one has to go through life and be hostage to such disease, mostly not of their own making, is not a pleasing and acceptable thought. Again there is no method of adequate redress for such actions under our dual law system.

 

Considering the above, it is clear that crimes are being committed here and nothing is really being done about them. But to be logical, who is one supposed to hold accountable for these crimes? The ‘Devil’s’ true identity is known to only a handful. How can one prosecute a “devil” or a non-being? The truth is this, not even the victims get to know the identity of their offender(s).  Over that those who know it are important part of the traditional leadership. So who will prosecute whom? The state’s ability to fix the conflict between these two systems has long been killed. Thus the chiefs and traditional leadership that would normally be held to account for bringing these culprits to justice wont do it for that would mean undermining their own power base. What remains to be seen is how many more innocent boys and girls are going to face this fate before something is done? I shudder to think.

D. Othniel Forte