By Ade.campbell@awokonewspaper.sl
After Sierra Leone obtained Independence from Great Britain in 1961, the reigning British monarch Queen Elizabeth II visited Sierra Leone, and whether by fate or destiny, she meets with Princess Esther Soromusu Wilson, who hails from a Pujehun-based ruling family. As the country commemorates its 62nd anniversary of self-rule this week, Ade Campbell of Awoko talks to the centenarian Wilson who celebrated her 100th birthday in March to recount the experience and look back at her life in the first of our feature series, People.
Sipping her fresh coconut water, “Princess” Esther Soromusu Wilson (nee Luseni-Massaquoi) sits in her living room enjoying the cool afternoon breeze at her Syke Street home, where she has lived almost her entire life since getting married in the 1940s.
Humility brims through her warm smile as she welcomes guests – sometimes speaking in fluent Mende or Vai – who are visiting to congratulate the Princess on her 100th birthday, which was celebrated in March. Despite the modest coiffeur of her hairstyle despite being in its silver and black colour, she could still pass for being much younger than her age. On this day – three weeks after hitting a century – she spots a long flowing dress (gown) with floral aesthetics, which was designed and tailored by her celebrity granddaughter MaryAnn Kai-Kai, the owner of Madam Wokie Fabrics.
Birth of a Princess
Esther Wilson was born a princess to Paramount Chief Mana Luseni-Massaquoi and mother Fatmata Massaquoi in the small town of Fairo, Sorobema Chiefdom in Pujehun district, southern Sierra Leone close to the Liberian border. Princess Soromusu is one of the eldest among close to 40 siblings. Her exact order in the sequence of birth remains unclear even by her own admission. She was named after her paternal aunt, Esther, a favourite sister to the Paramount Chief. A century ago, her birth on 23rd March 1923 would have taken place in a royal house with maids and special birth attendants. Other details surrounding the birth have been lost in the fog of time. But being the first-born daughter of the royal family called for a weeklong celebration.
“I feel the same way I did since that time as a child,” Wilson recalls. “I do not use my status to feel better than others. I love to be simple and courteous to everyone I meet.”
“I attended a public primary school in Fairo just like all the other children in the community,” Wilson recollects. “Even when I moved to Freetown to attend Saint Joseph’s Convent secondary (at Howe Street), I was ushered to school with a hammock, but many times I dodge because I prefer to use the double-decker bus for sight-seeing and be with my friends.”
Despite her modesty, Princess Wilson was unable to completely avoid her class of high society. As part of her primary education, she attended the same school in Liberia – where she learned to speak Vai – with the future wife of that country’s president Hannah Tolbert. The centenarian adds that the bond with Liberia’s First Lady remained close until Hannah’s passing many years later.
While Hannah married a future president, Esther met a flamboyant diplomat-to-be Joseph Wilson – a childhood sweetheart.
Joseph, who became a lawyer, attended Saint Edwards, which just like St Joseph’s is one of the Catholic Church mission schools in Freetown. In those days both schools were located in the centre of town.
“We met during our secondary schooling. We were young and it was love at first sight,” Esther Wilson attests. “I saw traits of humility and sincerity in him – I have no regrets after saying ‘I do’.”
Joseph Wilson was appointed Sierra Leone’s High Commissioner to Britain during the short-lived government of Brigadier Andrew Juxon-Smith who took over power after a coup d’état in 1969.
“He took me places,” the Princess smiles. “We had dinner at Downing Street and visited other British Commonwealth countries.”
Joyous moments
Travelling the world and meeting important personalities was a thrill, but she adds that among her joyous moments was the birth of her first daughter.
There was another unforgettable moment of joy for the centenarian – accompanying her aunt to meet face to face to receive as a ceremonial gesture the crown of the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1961. The event took place at Durban Grounds in Bo during Sierra Leone’s celebration of attaining Independence from Britain in the same year.
“I was excited to meet the Queen, but it wasn’t an extraordinary event for me,” Wilson recounts.
Fight for survival
Like many Sierra Leoneans during the civil war in the country, Esther was faced with her toughest test yet. In May 1997 after the shock and unexpected invasion of Freetown by the junta-led Major Johnny Paul Koroma.
“I had to flee with my four grandchildren who were living with me,” Wilson responded with a frown, considering that she was 74 years of age at the time.
“I fled with the children to Conakry, Guinea as the only accompanying adult. We stayed in Conakry for a while but the plan was to travel to Banjul, The Gambia.
“The day we were supposed to travel to Banjul, we were at the Conakry airport when news came that the Gambian government has banned the arrivals of all Sierra Leoneans. I was frustrated. It was devastating news,”
‘To make matters worse, together with my grandchildren, the family-based overseas decided we should travel by road to Ghana from Conakry. It was a painful experience. I was emotionally crushed by the long road hours for a person over 70,” Princess Wilson narrates.
At 100, Soromusu Wilson has not ditched her culinary skills. The kitchen is her territory, which reminds her of the love she showed family and friends through her tasty cuisine. “Now, I’ve been outlawed from the kitchen…it’s unfair that’s my office,” she giggles.
Still mentally alert and could read you a paragraph or more without needing glasses, she spends her day mostly relaxing at the verandah, observing the Syke Street rush hour and making sure that her daily dosage of two coconut water to add to her vitality.
As a devout catholic, Soromusu misses going to church regularly but there is an arrangement whereby the church evangelises at home and provides Holy Communion.
However, on her birthday she insisted to attend church “by any means necessary” for prayers to praise God for blessing her with longevity.
This has been a life full of highs and lows although the positive points outweigh fighting adversity. AC/28/4/2023
