The Emergence of the Bissau-Guinean Fula Cernos

Abstract

International agencies and non-governmental organisations classify Quranic schoolboys who beg on behalf of their teachers as victims of child trafficking. The aim here is to understand why no Bissau-Guinean Fula religious leader, referred to as cerno, has been sentenced to prison, despite accusations of child trafficking. The findings show that community members hold religious leaders in high esteem for their role within the spiritual, educative, and social spheres. Community members, entrenched in complex discriminatory relations within their ethnic group and beyond, perceive them as their saviours, while politicians, high-ranking officers and traders compete for their endorsement. Criminalising the cernos is unsuccessful; to safeguard the interests of children, the children and their community members, including the cernos, should be put at the heart of the safeguarding measures. Despite complex layers of coloniality, the religious leaders are the masters of the game, and their imprisonment is challenging.