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An unusual incident in the Banga Farm community has left residents in disbelief after a 14-year-old girl was publicly accused by her aunt of spiritually transforming into a large snake. The claim, which ignited a family dispute, was later dismissed by a traditional healer.
According to family members, the incident occurred on a Sunday when the girl was asleep. Her aunt, who lives in the same household, claimed to have witnessed her niece metamorphose into a snake, locally known as a “Boman.”
Awoko reports that the accusation of witchcraft sparked a heated argument, with the aunt insisting the girl possessed spiritual powers.
The teenager, whose name is being withheld to protect her privacy, vehemently denied the accusation. She told her parents and local council authorities that she had only experienced a nightmare in which she was being chased by people with cutlasses. “When I woke up, I shared the dream with my sister,” she recounted.
Tensions reportedly escalated when a missing house key was mysteriously found in the girl’s hand after she awoke, which the aunt cited as further proof of her suspicions. The aunt then took the child to a traditional herbalist for a spiritual screening.
Still unsatisfied, the aunt later sought the services of a renowned traditional healer, Pa Mancha, in the Morabi community. After conducting a spiritual screening, Pa Mancha publicly declared that the 14-year-old was not a witch. He concluded that the girl possesses a “spiritual eye” that allows her to see supernatural events in her dreams. He also recommended that other family members undergo screening, suggesting the source of the spiritual disturbance might lie elsewhere within the household.
The case has drawn widespread attention, highlighting the deep-rooted beliefs in witchcraft and spiritual transformations within the Banga Farm community. Community elders have since called for calm, urging family members to avoid stigmatizing the teenager. The incident has once again brought to the forefront the tension between traditional beliefs, superstition, and the rights of minors in Sierra Leone.
