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“We watched them for about three days on their bikes,” she recalled. The children continued riding in front of them, teasing them while refusing to share. Eventually, Fahnbulleh and her brother decided they had waited long enough.
One of Africa’s most respected musical voices, Miatta Fahnbulleh was simply a curious child growing up in Liberia.
And one childhood memory still makes her laugh decades later.
Speaking with Kafui Dey, the legendary singer recalled a mischievous adventure from her early years in Bong County, Liberia.
She remembered watching children from neighbouring homes ride bicycles and tricycles, something she and her brother desperately wanted to experience.
But every time they asked to ride, they were refused.
“We watched them for about three days on their bikes,” she recalled.
The children continued riding in front of them, teasing them while refusing to share.
Eventually, Fahnbulleh and her brother decided they had waited long enough.
“On the fourth day, we just grabbed the bikes,” she said with laughter.
“We were riding. They couldn’t say anything.”
Looking back, Fahnbulleh admits it was not exactly the right thing to do.
“That was just mean of us,” she joked.
But the memory remains one of her earliest childhood experiences — a reminder of the determination and boldness that would later become part of her personality.
Long before she challenged political ideas and social expectations, she was already a child who questioned limits.
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