The murder of Marie Thula 1

By Alpha B. Kamara

The village square at Malal Village is in crisis. Groups of young men, women and the elderly have converged at the village square, bemused of the horrible incident that has happened in their community, squabbled among themselves as to the nature of the incident, who committed the abominable deed and for what purpose.
The women conversed in whispers, afraid to face the wrath of angry and frustrated men, while the elders and young men walked a distance away from the women and children, to find solutions to the tragedy that has befallen them.
“We must find ways to know who committed this abominable deed,” Sorie Thula, the brother of the deceased demanded.
“The body of my sister will not rot without avenge. I call upon you elders and brothers to fight her fight; avenge her death!”
Marie Thula was 15 years old; daughter of Pa Kaprr Thula and Yeabu Tholie, both deceased. She was adopted by her uncle, the younger brother of her mother, Musa Tholie, and raised among his three children, Adama, yeanoh and Kai.
She was seen by a trader who was passing by, as the dismembered body lie on the road path leading to the village in the evening hours.
“The body of my sister will not rot without avenge,” Sorie continued, looking into the eyes of the others.
“This is a matter we should investigate to know who killed her,” one of the elders cautioned, “We know how you feel, but we must be cautions.”
Three days after the burial of the deceased, the elders met at the court barray and raised the issue with the section chief, Pa Lemamy Kumah, for a sorcerer to be summoned to find the killers or killer of Marie Thula.
It was agreed that Sese Gbema, the great sorcerer of Mayimbi, a village few miles from Malal, be summoned. The section chief then ordered his messenger that he (Sese Gbema ) be informed that Malal is in tears and needed his help, that the elders of Malal have agreed to seek his service to save them from a curse.
It was on Sunday, in the afternoon, when most of the boys were playing at the village square, the women and girls tending to daily house work, and the elders and men discussing at the court barray, when the strangely dressed man in red and black clothing, alligator-leathered bag strapped on his shoulders, with beads of cowries and small bells ringing from continuous dangling, dashed from the road path the body of the girl was murdered and ran straight into the village square.
The panic stricken boys ran into their houses, others stood agape, hypnotized by the strange looking man, who was accompanied by two other men dressed in similar attire.
The whole village erupted into disarray, as the women and girls also left their chores and ran indoors. The strange men stood for few minutes at the center of the village, sniffing and gnawing like angry dogs, and suddenly dashed toward the court barray, where the section chief and elders awaits them.