Sierra Leone Indigenous Traditional Healers Union launched in Kenema

Members of the Sierra Leone Indigenous Traditional Healers Union (SLITHU) established their presence in Kenema, eastern Sierra Leone, over the weekend as they officially launched the union in that part of the country. (Photo: SLITHU president, Alhaji Dr. Sulaiman Kabbah addressing the traditional groups)

The ceremony took place at the Kenema playing field. Members of the different traditional groups were introduced alongside their executives including international delegates from Nigeria, and Niger.

The event colorfully displayed the richness of traditional masquerades, and songs and cultural performances which all the regional memberships contributed marked the day.

Speaking during the launch, SLITHU President, Alhaji Dr. Sulaiman Kabbah called on Sierra Leoneans to lend support to the union to have it succeed in its mission of making the country charm arms free.

He furthered that the initiative to establish the union came about in an effort to redeem Sierra Leone from those miscreants who are hell-bent in inflicting innocent persons with ailments, whilst others are made to suffer death of no just causes.

Alhaji Sulaiman Kabbah called on the Government of Sierra Leone to consider building a Traditional Medicine College to help in their effort of building and refining some of these killers into healers all in an effort to make Sierra Leone a safe place to be.

Dr. Kabbah emphasized the importance of having a traditional medicine college, noting that it will be in place to be able to manufacture allopathic medicines that are essential for the cure of certain ailments that are not diagnosed in the conventional hospital.

Dr. Kabbah reflected saying there was a time in Sierra Leone when nobody wanted to interact or associate themselves with occults and native sorcerers who are now combined in the union as traditional healers, but today the different initiatives have worked as in the outcome of their current establishment, everybody is now embracing them and the composition now has everybody, including members of the police force, journalists, civil society activists, and other dignitaries who also made their presence felt at the ceremony.

He called on all regardless of tribe, religion or political affiliation to give the union the fullest support and cooperation it needs so that they may forge ahead in carrying out their full scale activities.

Speaking on behalf of the Local Unit Commander of Kenema, Mr. David Sahib Koroma welcomed the traditional healers union’s initiative amidst promises to give their full support as police to stopping the unlawful killing of innocent people in the country through fetish means.

Deputy Director of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) said he supports the traditional healers union for their initiative in coming against their colleagues who are in the habit of afflicting innocent people in the land.

Sierra Express Media’s CEO, Adeyemi Paul, in his contribution said the efforts of members of the Sierra Leone Indigenous Traditional Healers Union should be complemented by all Sierra Leoneans. He called on the government to put mechanisms in place for the traditional healers to establish their much talked about traditional therapeutic hospital to ensure that they keep well with the project of free and accessible medical care in the country.

Below are photographs from the colourful event: