Bo, also commonly referred to as Bo Town, is the second largest city in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

by landscape/geographical location (after

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

) and the largest city in the Southern Province. Bo is the capital and

administrative Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...

centre of

Bo District Bo District is a district in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. It is one of the sixteen Districts of Sierra Leone. Bo District is the fourth most populous District in Sierra Leone. Its capital city, capital and largest city is the city of ...

. The city of Bo had a population of 149,957 in the 2004 census and had a population of about 233,684 based on 2017 estimate. Bo is an

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

centre, and lies approximately 160 miles (250 km) eastsoutheast of

, and about 40 miles (71 km) to

Kenema Kenema is the third largest city in Sierra Leone (after Freetown and Bo), and the largest city in the country's Eastern Province. It is the capital of Kenema District and a major economic center of the Eastern Province. At the 2015 national cens ...

. Bo is the leading financial, educational and economic centre of southern Sierra Leone. The city of Bo is one of Sierra Leone's six

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and is locally governed by a

directly elected Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are cho ...

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

, known as the Bo City Council, headed by a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

. The Mayor and members of the Bo City Council are directly elected every four years in a municipal election. The current mayor of Bo is Harold Logie Tucker of the

Sierra Leone People's Party The Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, along with its main political rival the All People's Congress (APC). It has been the ruling party in Sierra Leone since April 4, 2018. The SLPP d ...

, who was elected mayor with 69.7% of the votes in the 2012 Bo Mayoral election. The city is the primary home of

Njala University Njala University (NU) is a public university located in Njala and Bo, Sierra Leone. It is the second largest university in Sierra Leone (after the Fourah Bay College) and is also part of the University of Sierra Leone. The largest and main camp ...

, the second largest university in Sierra Leone, after the

Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-l ...

. Bo is also home to the Bo Government Secondary School, commonly known as Bo School, which is one of the biggest and most prominent secondary schools in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

. The school has a history of producing some of Sierra Leone's most gifted students. The city is home to the

Bo Stadium The Bo Stadium is a stadium located in Bo, Sierra Leone, Bo, Sierra Leone. The stadium has an all-seated capacity of 4,000, making it the second-largest stadium in Sierra Leone after the National Stadium (Sierra Leone), Siaka Stevens National Stadi ...

, the second largest stadium in Sierra Leone, and is mostly used for football matches. Bo is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in Sierra Leone. The city is home to a significant population of many of Sierra Leone's ethnic groups, with no single ethnic group forming a majority. Bo is the principal home of the

Mende people The Mende are one of the two largest ethnic groups in Sierra Leone; their neighbours, the Temne people, constitute the largest ethnic group at 35.5% of the total population, which is slightly larger than the Mende at 31.2%. The Mende are pr ...

, who form the plurality of the city's population. As with most parts of Sierra Leone, the

Krio language Sierra Leonean Creole or Krio is an English-based creole language that is lingua franca and de facto national language spoken throughout the West African nation of Sierra Leone. Krio is spoken by 96 percent of the country's population, and it uni ...

of the

Sierra Leone Creole people The Sierra Leone Creole people ( kri, Krio people) are an ethnic group of Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Creole people are descendants of freed African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Liberated African slaves who settled in the Western Area of ...

is by far the most widely spoken language in Bo and is the primary means of communication in the city. The city's population is religiously diverse, primarily among

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

and

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

History

Bo began its modern development with the coming of the

Sierra Leone Government Railway :''This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series'' The Sierra Leone Government Railway operated in Sierra Leone from 1897 to 1974. It was unusual in that it formed a national railway system constructed solely to a Narrow ...

in 1889 and became an educational centre in 1906, when the Bo Government Secondary School was established. From 1930 until

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

in 1961, it was the capital of the Protectorate of Sierra Leone. The city is the administrative centre of the Southern Province. After Freetown, Bo is the leading transportation, commercial, and educational centre of Sierra Leone. The

was closed in 1974. The

inhabitants Domicile is relevant to an individual's "personal law," which includes the law that governs a person's status and their property. It is independent of a person's nationality. Although a domicile may change from time to time, a person has only one ...

of Bo are known for their resolve, resistance and

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, chevalier de J ...

. The town was named after its generosity. An

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

was killed close to what is now known as Bo Parking Ground. People from the surrounding

villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

came to receive their share. Because the amount of meat was so large, the hunter spent days distributing it and the words "Bo-lor" (which in

Mende language Mende (''Mɛnde yia'') is a major language of Sierra Leone, with some speakers in neighboring Liberia and Guinea. It is spoken by the Mende people and by other ethnic groups as a regional lingua franca in southern Sierra Leone. In southern Sier ...

means "this is yours," with reference to the meat) was said so much that the elders and visitors decided to name the place Bo. "Bo-lor" in Mende also translates to "this is Bo."

Government

The city of Bo is one of Sierra Leone's six

and is governed by a

form of government, headed by a

, in whom

executive authority The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ba ...

is vested. The mayor is responsible for the general management of the city. The mayor and members of the Bo city council are elected directly by the residents of Bo in a

municipal election In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

that is held every four years.` Like virtually all parts of the Southern Province, the city of Bo is a reliable political stronghold of the SLPP, the main opposition party in Sierra Leone. The SLPP has won every Sierra Leone presidential elections in the city and the rest of Bo District by an overwhelming majority. The SLPP has also won virtually every parliamentary, and Local government elections in Bo by an overwhelming majority, including the most recent Sierra Leone general elections held in November 2012. With assistance from the Revenue Development Foundation Bo City Council has started to collect property taxes.

Geography

Climate

Like the rest of Sierra Leone, Bo has a

tropical climate Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) or higher in the cool ...

, more specifically a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

(Am) under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, with a

rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * '' ...

from May to October and a

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The te ...

from November to April. Average annual

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

varies with up to 5,080 mm (200 inches) in the wettest parts. The prevailing winds are the SW Monsoon during the wet season and the northeastern

Harmattan The Harmattan is a season in West Africa that occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by the dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind, of the same name, which blows from the Sahara over West Africa into the ...

which is a dust-laden wind from the

Sahara Desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

during the dry season. Average

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...

ranges in Bo are from 21 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit) to 31 degrees Celsius (88 degrees Fahrenheit) all year.

Demographics

Bo has an ethnically diverse population, although the Mende make up the largest ethnic group. The city is home to a significant numbers of many of the country's ethnic groups as well as a large

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

n community. The population of the city is about equal in numbers between

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s and

Culture

One World Link

In 1981 Bo District formed a 'One World Link' (OWL) with

Warwick District Warwick is a local government district of central Warwickshire in England. It borders the Borough of Rugby and Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire as well as the West Midlands County (of which Coventry and Solihull are within the historic ...

in the United Kingdom. This was inspired by a desire for justice, equality, human understanding and mutual support. Over the years it has helped to strengthen both communities and their awareness of global and development issues. The many outcomes of the link include women's groups, school links, an online archive, an education programme and the opening, in 2008, of a Community Centre in Bo city. Immediate plans include collaboration on a pilot environmental programme for the collection and disposal of waste. There is also a youth wing which has 20 registered youth groups, that serve over 1,000 young people.

BODDA

The Bo District Development Association (BODDA - UK) was formed in the United Kingdom on 7 September 2003 by a group of natives from Bo District in Sierra Leone. The primary purpose for the formation of this organization is for its membership to explore every possible lawful avenue to solicit generous donations in cash, food, clothing, educational and agricultural. Bo District Development Association has been involved in various projects including sponsorships in Sierra Leone and the UK, for example the introduction of the BODDA Civic Award in which the people of Bo are annually awarded for their contributions towards nation building and community development (this is an effort to encourage the people of Bo in national development and citizenship); donation of two hundred computers and other school materials to various schools in Bo in 2007; donation of medical equipment to the Bo Government Hospital and books to the Bo Regional library in January 2010. In August 2006, in partnership with the British Council Sierra Leone, they were able to facilitate a one-month tour for six artists from Bo with the aim of promoting awareness of global issues through music and encouraging global citizenship through the linking of youth groups in the UK and Sierra Leone. The Organisation also awards scholarship to students from poor family backgrounds who are unable to meet their educational needs.

Education

The city has a campus of

. As in most parts of Sierra Leone, the

is widely spoken in the city Bo, although

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

is the

official language An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...

spoken at schools and government places. The Mende language is also widely understood by the city's residents, although Krio is by far the most widely spoken language. Bo has one of the highest

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

rates in Sierra Leone. The city is home to Bo Teacher's College, and hence to many

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s as well as several

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

s, including one of the elite secondary schools in

, The Bo Government Secondary School (commonly known as Bo School). Bo school was founded in 1906 by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

educationist Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Var ...

Leslie Probyn Sir Leslie Probyn (23 February 1862 – 17 December 1938) was an administrator for the British Empire. Career Probyn was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1884. He began his career as a British colonial administrator in the Caribbean. F ...

to educate the children of Bo Town. The school has a long history of producing the elite of Sierra Leone, especially the country's top politicians. It is situated on of land in the heart of Bo Town. The school itself is situated in pleasant surroundings and within walking distance of the government hospital, government post office, police station, and the main shopping centre of Bo Town. A football field, volleyball court, basketball court, long tennis court, and cricket pitch enrich the recreational facilities the school provides. There are plans to rehabilitate the school swimming pool. Bo School also maintains a unique tradition of seniority which has consistently augured well for social cohesion among the students. Maggots/Greeners/Rustics are either junior or newer members of the school (specifically those with more recent admission numbers). They are expected to always observe all rules of deference association with their positions and comply fully with specific instructions from senior students. Bo is also home to the Bo Teacher's College, and the newly built Bo Industrial Growth Centre, one of Sierra Leone's largest

vocational school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the task ...

s, which was officially opened by Sierra Leone's president

Ernest Bai Koroma Ernest Bai Koroma (born 2 October 1953) is a Sierra Leonean politician who served as the fourth President of Sierra Leone from 17 September 2007 to 4 April 2018. Born and raised in Makeni in northern Sierra Leone, Koroma spent more than 24 ...

in April 2013.

Notable Secondary Schools

* Christ the King College. * Bo Government Secondary School * Ark of Hope Modern Academy * Ahmadiyya Muslim Secondary School * Queen of the Rosary Secondary School * Comprehensive Secondary School * St. Andrews Secondary School * Bo Commercial Secondary school * SLMB Secondary School * St. Pauls Junior Secondary School * Ken Wiebe School * Njala University Experimental Secondary School * Tahir Ahmadiyya Junior Secondary School * Methodist High School

Media

Bo is the second most important city in Sierra Leone, after the capital Freetown. The two main local

radio stations Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio signal, audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-b ...

in Bo are Kiss FM 104, and Radio New Song 97.5. The local service of the national broadcaster, SLBS, transmits on 96.5 MHz. Commercial station

Capital Radio Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. ...

uses 102.3 MHz and BBC World Service also has an FM relay.

Sport

Like the rest of Sierra Leone,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

is the most popular sport in the city. Bo has two football clubs in the

Sierra Leone National Premier League Sierra Leone National Premier League is a professional football league in Sierra Leone. It was founded in 1967. The league is sponsored by the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, one of the major Sierra Leonean banks. East End Lions and Mighty Blackpoo ...

Bo Rangers Bo Rangers Football Club commonly known as Bo Rangers is a Sierra Leonean professional soccer, football club based in the country's second largest city of Bo, Sierra Leone, Bo. They are currently a member of the Sierra Leone National Premier League ...

, and Nepean Stars. Both clubs play their home games at the

. Another club from Bo Town called the

Kakua Rangers The Kakua Rangers of Bo is a Sierra Leonean Association football, football club based in Bo, the second largest city of Sierra Leone. The club is currently a member of the Sierra Leone National Premier League, the highest football league in Sier ...

plays in the

Sierra Leone National First Division Sierra Leone National First Division is the second highest football league in Sierra Leone, after the Sierra Leone National Premier League. Along with the Sierra Leone National Premier League, they are the two major football leagues in Sierra Leon ...

, the second highest football league in Sierra Leone, after the Sierra Leone National Premier League. There are several clubs from Bo Town in the lower divisions of Sierra Leone league system.

Transport

Bo Airport

Bo Airport serves the

and the Southern Province. The airport is no longer in regular use.

Places of worship

Places of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is somet ...

are predominantly

mosques. There are also

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

churches and temples :

Roman Catholic Diocese of Bo The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bo was created in January 2011, split off from the Archdiocese of Freetown. There are about 50,000 Roman Catholics under the jurisdiction of the diocese. Its first and present bishop is Charles Allieu Matthew Campb ...

(

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

United Methodist Church in Sierra Leone The Wesleyan Methodist Church Mission started in 1792 after a request of converted settlers from Nova Scotia. The work was under the care of the British Methodists. The first Wesleyan missionary was Dr. George Warren arrived to Sierra Leone in 1811. ...

, United Brethren in Christ Church (

World Methodist Council The World Methodist Council (WMC), founded in 1881, is a consultative body and association of churches in the Methodist tradition. It comprises 80 member denominations in 138 countries which together represent an estimated 80 million people; this ...

), Baptist Convention of Sierra Leone (

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is the largest international Baptist organization with an estimated 51 million people in 2022 with 246 member bodies in 128 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA account ...

Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

. and Kingdom Halls of Jehovah‘s Witnesses JW.org

Notable people

Nabih Berri Nabih Berri ( ar, نبيه مصطفى بري, translit=Nabīh Muṣṭafā Barriyy, links=hh; born 28 January 1938) is a Lebanese Shia politician who has been serving as Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon since 1992. He heads the Amal Moveme ...

, speaker of Lebanese parliament * Caddi Golia, epidemiologist * Matilda Lansana Minah, Paramount Chief of

Pujehun District Pujehun District is a district in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. Pujehun District is one of the sixteen Districts of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is the town of Pujehun . The other major towns in the district include Gando ...

lived in Bo during the

Sierra Leone Civil War The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002), or the Sierra Leonean Civil War, was a civil war in Sierra Leone that began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), with support from the special forces of Liberia, Liberian dictato ...

Joe Robert Pemagbi Joe Robert Pemagbi (born 22 November 1945 in Bo, British Sierra Leone) is a Sierra Leonean diplomat. He has been the Sierra Leonean Ambassador to the United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose state ...

, Sierra Leone ambassador to the United Nations * Kanja Ibrahim Sesay, Financial Secretary of Bo District Students Union and Secretary General of the Fourah Bay College Students Union * Wusu Sannoh, mayor of Bo *

Sallieu Bundu Sallieu Bundu (born January 1, 1984, in Freetown, Sierra Leone) nicknamed Teacher, is a Sierra Leonean Association football, footballer. Early life Bundu, who is commonly known by his nickname Teacher, grew up in his hometown of Freetown, Sierr ...

, Sierra Leonean football player * Bunturabie Jalloh Sierra Leone's Olympic flag-bearerSierra Leone Sports: Bunturabie Jalloh chosen as Sierra Leone’s Olympic flag-bearer
, Awoko.org, Retrieved 18 September 2016

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in Sierra Leone Southern Province, Sierra Leone