CHAPTER VII

BORFIMA AND MEMBERSHIP CASES

The first of these cases was one against an important person who held high office in the Imperri Chiefdom. The charge against him was that in or about the month of July, 1912, he had in his possession without lawful authority or excuse certain articles, to wit a native medicine commonly known as “Borfima,” and a “kukoi” or whistle, contrary to Section 2 of Ordinance No. 28 of 1909 (The Human Leopard Society Ordinance) as amended by Section 7 of Ordinance No. 17 of 1912. There were two other counts charging him with (i) the custody and (ii) the control of the “Borfima” and “Kukoi” mentioned above. The accused was a man of striking personality, and appears to have exercised a great influence in the Imperri Chiefdom.

The facts of the case were simple. In July, 1912, it was stated by members of the Society who had turned King’s evidence that he had been present at several meetings of the Human Leopard Society and had taken a prominent part in the preliminary arrangements for securing various victims, and that he had at these meetings produced the “mother” Borfima of the Imperri Chiefdom. In these circumstances he was arrested and his houses at Gbangbama and Victoria were watched by Court Messengers.

Early one morning the senior Court Messenger saw one of the accused’s wives leave the house at Gbangbama with a bundle. He followed her, and when she saw that there was no escape she threw the bundle down and ran away. This bundle held, amongst other things, an iron pot containing “medicine.”

The accused admitted that the “medicine” was his, and made a statement as to how it had come into his possession. This will be best described in his own words: “I am a sick man. My sickness arose over a dream. A snake swallowed me up to my waist. I screamed and then awakened. In the morning I was unable to move. My legs and body up to the place where the snake had swallowed me became ‘dead.’ I remained like that for four years. I heard that there was a Mori Man at a town called Behol, and sent a messenger for him. I employed this man to make a medicine for me and I paid him £3 for it. That is the sebbeh (charm) which was in the pot which the Court Messenger took from my wife. The Mori Man told me that I would not dream again, and that the lassimo (medicine) would ward off ill-health and bad dreams so long as I always kept it with me. Ah! if he were not dead I would not be here” (meaning that had the Mori Man been living it would not have been in the power of the white man to interfere with him).

The accused caused some amusement in Court by describing how the senior Court Messenger brought the sebbeh to Gombo-kabbo (“Fire in the grass,” the native name for the Assistant District Commissioner), and how he heard him shout out in a triumphant voice, which he imitated, “I have brought Daddy Borfima—come and see!”

He likewise imitated the voices of the two ex-members of the Human Leopard Society who were witnesses against him. One of these men had a deep voice and the other’s voice was just the reverse, but this did not appear to present any difficulty to this extraordinarily good mimic.

Evidence was given that he bore the mark of the Human Leopard Society. His retort was that even in England people have marks. He went on to say that the people were beginning to say that the white man “is bad,” but that it was not altogether the white man’s fault, as he was being misled by the persons who said they had been members of the Human Leopard Society and now, to save themselves, gave evidence for the prosecution. He gave one to understand that words failed him to express his contempt for these persons, and that if they had to deal with them under native law they would know what to do.

He described how the District Commissioner had forced him to throw the Borfima into a fire made for that purpose; and how he had protested against this, stating that he had lost good money over its destruction. He went on to pay a subtle compliment to the Court by saying, “We were thinking in this country that there were no judges in England until you ‘daddies’ arrived.”

Although the accused very ably defended himself, there was no doubt from the evidence of the witnesses that the medicine in question was Borfima. It was also proved very clearly that he was one of the leaders in the Human Leopard Society. Found Guilty, and asked if he had anything to say why sentence should not be passed on him, he replied: “I am the cow with the short tail, God will drive the flies away. The Judges, you, represent God. You didn’t believe when I spoke of those men who said they belonged to the Leopard Society. I see the result now.”

A sentence of fourteen years’ imprisonment with hard labour was passed on this man, who, even after the passing of the sentence, had a last word of protest and pathetic appeal. As he was leaving the Court, he burst out, “I am an old man, fourteen years is a longer time than I will live: Judges, if you must have my life take it at once; the soldiers are there with their guns to shoot”—the military guard round the Court-house when the Court was sitting.

It may be mentioned in connection with this case that the prisoner, without any family influence, had gained an ascendancy over the people of the Chiefdom unequalled by even the Chief himself. Some years ago he was tried for Leopard murder, but was acquitted, and from that date he appears to have been marked out as a person of distinction. It was asserted that his “medicine” was sufficiently strong to guard him against all bad trouble that might be put upon him, and he was selected as the custodian of the chief “medicine” of the Human Leopard Society known as the “Mother Borfima.” When fresh Borfima was made it was necessary that a small portion should be taken from the parent Borfima, and this formed the foundation for the new Borfima.

Another interesting native was brought before the Court in the person of a Chief from the southern portion of the Protectorate near the Liberian frontier, charged with a similar offence. The District Commissioner obtained information that this man had in his possession the “medicine” belonging to a branch of the Society, and Court Messengers were detailed to search his house, with the result that a large quantity of “medicine” of various sorts was discovered and produced before the Court.

The accused in his defence stated that he had been one of the leaders of the “War boys,” who operated with the British force during the 1898 Rebellion, and that the “medicine” produced had been seized by the War boys from the rebels and was afterwards deposited for safe keeping in his house; that the War boys had never returned to claim these curiosities or trophies, and that the bags in which the “medicine” had been kept had never been opened up until their seizure by the Court Messengers. There was reliable evidence that a portion of the “medicine” was Borfima, and it was apparent that some of the leather wrappings round it had recently been repaired. From the evidence it was clear that the prisoner had made use of the “medicine” for unlawful purposes, and he was therefore found Guilty; but as he had been a great warrior and had rendered valuable service to the Government during the 1898 Rebellion, a comparatively light sentence was passed on him.

Another Chief from yet another part of the country was indicted for being in possession of Borfima without lawful authority. There was also a second charge against him of having in his possession a Kukoi, i.e. a special kind of whistle used for calling together members of the Human Leopard Society. Information reached the District Commissioner of the Island of Sherbro during the month of August, 1912, that the accused had Borfima in his possession. This man was known to be of a rather truculent disposition, and it was considered desirable that there should be some show of force when his chief town was visited for the purpose of effecting his arrest, as otherwise some resistance might have been met with by the officers detailed for this duty. An armed party of the West African Frontier Force accordingly made a surprise visit and surrounded his house, and effected his arrest without any resistance being offered. His house was then searched and a quantity of “medicines” found which were produced in Court.

The accused admitted that the “medicines” belonged to him, but stated that they had been left to him by his predecessor, and that during his absence on one occasion while he was in Freetown they had been put in his dwelling-house, and that he, fearing these “medicines,” had kept them locked up in a leather bag. He further denied that any of the “medicines” was Borfima. The witnesses for the prosecution all stated that a portion of the “medicines” was Borfima, and it was apparent that the wrappings of this particular “medicine” had been recently repaired.

The Court in delivering judgment pointed out that the accused, by keeping this medicine in his possession, gave himself and others the opportunity of using it, and that there was satisfactory evidence to show that it was not kept for curiosity or for any legitimate object, but for an unlawful purpose; however, as there was no evidence to show that the Borfima had been taken to the scenes of any of the recent murders, and there was no reason to believe it had, the Court took this into consideration in deciding on the punishment to be imposed on the accused. The sentence imposed was a term of two years’ imprisonment with hard labour. The evidence regarding the Kukoi (whistle) was not considered reliable, and on this charge he was found not guilty.

A number of other cases besides those mentioned occupied the time of the Court for some weeks, and among them were a number of cases in which prisoners were charged with being members of the Human Leopard Society. As there were so many persons under arrest on this charge, the Crown decided to proceed only against the important men concerned. Most of these men were defended by counsel, who examined the witnesses for the prosecution at great length, but in many cases they were unable to shake their evidence. A number of these prisoners were proved to have been present at various meetings of the Society at which the details of several murders had been arranged, and the Court in giving judgment stated that on the facts proved such persons were really accessories before the fact to these murders and might on the evidence have been found guilty on the capital charge had they been prosecuted for it, and in those cases the Court felt compelled to pass the maximum sentence of fourteen years’ imprisonment with hard labour.

The only other case of interest was one in which a man of some importance in his chiefdom was charged with having in his possession without lawful authority a certain article, to wit an iron needle of a peculiar shape used for marking on initiation members of the HUMAN LEOPARD SOCIETY.

The possession of this article is made an offence under the HUMAN LEOPARD SOCIETY ORDINANCE, punishable with imprisonment up to fourteen years. The case resolved itself chiefly into a discussion on a point of law, the arguments in the case all turning on the word “branding.”

The case for the prosecution was that iron needles, made specially for the purpose, were used in the following way: the needle was inserted under the skin, the skin and flesh were raised, a razor then cut under or over the needle in such a way as to make a small wound from which blood flowed. A preparation called Nikori was then placed on the wound, and the result was a peculiar scar or mark. It was contended that an iron needle used for that purpose could be held to be a needle used for branding persons.

For the defence it was argued by counsel that “branding” a person meant applying a hot iron to his person, and that marking a person was not the same as branding him; that the word “branding” by itself contained the idea of burning, that the Statute was a highly penal Statute giving exceptionally large powers to the Executive and imposing a heavy punishment for breach of its provisions. It was further argued that the needle was not even for “marking” members—that it was the razor which actually made the mark; that although the needle might be used in the process of marking it was no more used for “marking” the person than the hand which held it.

The Court held that the needle could not be held to be used for “branding,” and found the accused not guilty, and he was discharged.

The Crown Prosecutor entered a _nolle prosequi_ in the case of a number of other prisoners who had been committed for trial but against whom he did not consider that he had sufficient evidence to justify him in proceeding further, and these men, so far as the charges on which they were committed for trial were concerned, were discharged from custody.

This completed the work of the Special Commission Court, which, after sitting continuously from the 18th December, 1912, concluded its sittings on the 15th May, 1913.