A man in Sierra Leone’s Capital, Freetown has been in hiding since 2021 for fear of being killed after locals learned that he was bisexual.
Amadu Sankoh has been bisexual since he was in high school, but he kept it secret because being part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in Sierra Leone is associated with risk, a closed relative of Sankoh told this medium on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. He said that Sankoh went into hiding for fear of persecution.
He said that what make the situation even worse is that his parents are fervent Christians from the Seventh Days Adventist Church, adding that his parents are strongly against bisexual person.
When asked how they came to the conclusion that Sankoh is bisexual person, a community elder, John Samai told this medium that they knew about it in June 2021 when Sankoh was caught making love with his partner (boyfriend)whom people knew to be his best friend. He said that this happened because his partner forgot to close the door to his room.
“The stepmother of the friend who witnessed the scene, raised an alarmed when they saw them, and they both ran away because nothing good would have come out of it had the neighbours met them at the scene because it’s an abominable offence to have a sexual affair with a fellow man,” Samai said.
Sankoh is a singer and he is known by many because he produced an Ebola sensitization song in 2014 which was aired many times on the national TV in Sierra Leone, and in 2016 he also produced a song to discourage teenage pregnancy and early marriage which also made him popular. This, according to family sources, could put him at risk of being easily identified and targeted in a country where same sex relation is considered highly intolerable, as there is no law which specifically protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
An elder of the town, Vandy Konneh said that many people have suffered torture and oppression for being lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.
He said that some of these human rights violations went unreported. He said that some of the incidents were reported to the police, but no investigation were instituted and no person has been held responsible for such violations.
One of the elders of the community, Pa Samba was quoted as saying that, Sankoh had committed an abominable crime for being a bisexual.
According to family sources, Sankoh has been in hiding for quite some time now and they are fearing for his safety because the locals have threatened to subject him to inhuman and degrading treatment which might cost him his life.
According to family sources, Sankoh’s life is in danger, as their resident had been attacked on several occasions by elders of the community.
Sankoh is said to have left the country for fear of being killed.
By Stephen V. Lansana