Kenema District

Kenema District

Location of Kenema District in Sierra Leone
Coordinates: 7°50′N 11°10′W / 7.833°N 11.167°W / 7.833; -11.167Coordinates: 7°50′N 11°10′W / 7.833°N 11.167°W / 7.833; -11.167
Country Sierra Leone
Province Eastern Province
Capital Kenema
Largest city Kenema
Government
 • Type District Council
 • Council Chairman Senesi Manssary (SLPP)
Area
 • Total 6,053 km2 (2,337 sq mi)
Population (2015 census)[1]
 • Total 609,873
 • Rank 3rd
 • Density 100/km2 (260/sq mi)
Time zone Greenwich Mean Time (UTC0)

Kenema District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Kenema, which is also the third largest city in Sierra Leone. The other major towns in the district include Tongo, Blama and Yomboma. The district is the most populous district in the Eastern province with a population 609,873.[1] Kenema District has an area of 6,053 km2 (2,337 sq mi) and comprises sixteen chiefdoms.

The District of Kenema borders Bo District to the west, the Republic of Liberia to the south, Tonkolili District and Kono District to the north, Kailahun District to the southwest, and Pujehun District to the southeast.

Major towns

Kenema District has four cities with a population of at least 40,000

Government

Kenema District is governed with a district council form of government, which is headed by a District Council Chairman, who is the highest local government official in the district. The District Council Chairman is responsible for the general management of the district. The District Council Chairman is elected directly by the residents of Kenema District every four years. The current District Council Chairman of Kenema District Council is Senesi Manssary of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), who easily won the 2012 District Chairperson election with 80.30%, defeating his main opponent Doris Saffa Nyangbe of the All People's Congress (APC) who took 15.49%.

Kenema District is a reliable political stronghold of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), the main opposition party in Sierra Leone. The District overwhelmingly supports the SLPP by a large majority in Presidential, Parliamentary and local councils elections. The SLPP have won every Sierra leone presidential elections in the District by a large majority; including the 2012 Presidential election, when the SLPP presidential candidate Julius Maada Bio won 77.9% of the vote in the District, as he easily defeated the incumbent president Ernest Bai Koroma in the District who took only 18.7%.

Members of Parliament

Kenema District currently has eleven directly elected Representatives in the Sierra Leone House of Parliament; and ten of the eleven members belong to the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP).

Demographics of Kenema District

The estimated population of Kenema District was 515,461.[2] Kenema District population is ethnically divers, although the Mende people make up the largest ethnic group. The district of Kenema enjoys religious plurality - Muslim and Christians. Since the emergence of the Second Liberian Civil War in 1999, Kenema District along with Bo District served more than 60,000 Liberian refugees

Economy

Kenema has a mixed economy, made up of gold and diamond mining as well as agricultural production of coffee, cacao and rice.

Sport

Kenema is home to Sierra Leonean Premier League club the Kamboi Eagles. The club won the Sierra Leonean FA Cup in 1981, and 1985.

Notable people from Kenema District

Administrative divisions

Chiefdoms

The district is made up of sixteen chiefdoms as the third level of administrative subdivision.

  1. Dama – Giema
  2. Dodo – Dodo
  3. Gaura – Joru
  4. Gorama Mende – Tungie
  5. Kandu Leppiam – Gbado
  6. Koya – Baoma
  7. Langurama Ya – Baima
  8. Lower Bambara – Panguma
  9. Malegohun – Sembehun
  10. Niawa – Sundumei
  11. Nomo – Faama
  12. Nongowa – Kenema
  13. Simbaru – Boajibu
  14. Small Bo – Blama
  15. Tunkia – Gorahun
  16. Wando – Faala

Major towns

References

  1. 1 2 "World Gazetteer: Eastern - administrative divisions (per geographical entity)". Archived from the original on 2013-01-05.
  2. ↑ World Gazetteer: Kenema - profile of geographical entity including name variants

External links

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