Falaba District is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

in the Northern Province of

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 , Sierra ...

. It is one of the sixteen Districts of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest town is Bendugu, Sierra Leone, Bendugu. Other towns in Falaba District include

Falaba {{Infobox settlement , official_name = Falaba , other_name = , native_name = , nickname = , settlement_type = , motto = , image_skyline = , imagesize ...

, Sikunia, Krubola, Musaia Ganya and Mansadu Falaba District is divided into thirteen chiefdoms. Falaba District is one of the largest Districts in Sierra Leone in

land area This is a list of the world's countries and their dependent territories by land, water and total area, ranked by total area. Entries in this list include, but are not limited to, those in the ISO 3166-1 standard, which includes sovereign ...

, However, it is one of the least most populous districts in the country. Falaba District is known for its mostly conservative

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 ...

population. Falaba District has a population of 205,353, based on 2018 estimate. In 2016, Falaba District was created out of

Koinadugu District Koinadugu District is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. It is the largest District in Sierra Leone in geographical area, and one of the least most densely populated. Its capital and largest city is Kabala, which is also one of ...

, and declared a newly created district by then Sierra Leone"s president

Ernest Bai Koroma Ernest Bai Koroma (born 2 October 1953) is a Sierra Leone, 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 mo ...

, and was

ratified Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent that lacked the authority to bind the principal legally. Ratification defines the international act in which a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty if the parties inte ...

by the

Parliament of Sierra Leone Parliament of Sierra Leone is the legislative branch of the government of Sierra Leone. It is principally responsible for making laws. The Sierra Leone parliament consists of 146 members, of which 132 members are directly elected from across Si ...

to officially become a district in the same year of 2016. Falaba District is one of the two newest districts created by the Government of Sierra Leone, along with

Karene District Karene is a district in the North West Province, Sierra Leone. Karine is one of the sixteen districts that make up the Republic of Sierra Leone. The capital and largest city of Karine District is Kamakwie Karine along with Falaba District are th ...

. Falaba District borders

Bombali District Bombali is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Makeni, which is also the largest city in the north. The Bombali district is one of the sixteen districts of Sierra Leone. Bombali is one of the lar ...

, and the

Republic of Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

. Falaba District is an entirely

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

district that is composed of mostly

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

and

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

. Many of the towns and

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 ...

in Falaba District are in far distance and remote areas within the district. The main ethnic groups in Falaba District are the Kuranko, Yalunka,

Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Al-Fula ...

and Mandingo. Falaba District is home to the largest population of ethnic Yalunka in Sierra Leone. The overwhelming majority of the people of Falaba District estimated at 95% are

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 ...

of the

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

tradition of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. Large number of Islamic schools, commonly known as

Madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

, are found throughout Falaba District. Falaba District is known for its mostly conservative Muslim population. Falaba District has the largest percentage of Muslims in Sierra Leone, and is one of two Districts in Sierra Leone where Muslims make up over 90% of the population (along with its neighbor

), though overall Muslims are majority in all of the 16 Districts of Sierra Leone. Falaba District is home, however, to a small but significant

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 ...

minori

at about 5%. There are several

Catholic 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 ...

and

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

churches in the District.

Government and politics

Politically Falaba District is a swing district as it is home to a large percentage of supporters of Sierra Leone's two major political parties: 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 do ...

(SLPP) and the

All People's Congress The All People's Congress (APC) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, the other being its main political rival the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). The APC has been the main opposition party in Sierra Leone since 4 Apr ...

(APC). At the

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

, Falaba District is 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 ...

district council, headed by a directly elected district council charman, in whom local executive power is granted. The current district council chairman of Falaba District is Abdulai Maranda Sajor, of the

who was elected district council chairman of Falaba District with 45.8% of the vote, as he narrowly defeated the

's candidate in the 2018 Falaba District council elections. The chiefdoms'

paramount chiefs A paramount chief is the English-language designation for the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a chief-based system. This term is used occasionally in anthropological and arch ...

of Falaba District are very powerful and extremely influential, especially in village within Falaba District. The Paramount chiefs usually resolve family dispute and minor crimes. In the 2018 Sierra Leone Presidential election,

Samura Kamara Dr Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara is a Sierra Leonean politician and economist. He was the All Peoples Congress (APC) Party's candidate for President of Sierra Leone in the 2018 election. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International C ...

of then ruling All People's Congress received 57% of the votes in Falaba District, and

Julius Maada Bio Julius Maada Wonie Bio (born 12 May 1964) is a Sierra Leonean politician, and the current president of Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018. He is a retired brigadier general in the Sierra Leone Army and was the military head of state of Sierra Leo ...

of then major opposition Sierra Leone People's Party received 42% of the votes in Falaba District. After the 2018 Sierra Leone Parliamentary election, Falaba District currently has four elected representatives in the

Sierra Leone Parliament Parliament of Sierra Leone is the legislative branch of the government of Sierra Leone. It is principally responsible for making laws. The Sierra Leone parliament consists of 146 members, of which 132 members are directly elected from across Si ...

, and they are Mohamed Billow Shaw (SLPP), Alusine Marah (APC), Alhasan Jeroh Kamara (APC), and Lahai Marah (APC).

Law enforcement and safety

The

Sierra Leone Police The Sierra Leone Police (SLP) is the national police force of the Republic of Sierra Leone. It is primarily responsible for law enforcement and crime investigation throughout Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Police is under the jurisdiction of the ...

is the primary law enforcement agency and crimes investigation in Falaba District. However, the

Paramount chiefs A paramount chief is the English-language designation for the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a chief-based system. This term is used occasionally in anthropological and arch ...

and the traditional council also investigate minor crimes and solve family and community conflict in Falaba District. The Paramount chiefs are very influential within their

chiefdoms A chiefdom is a form of hierarchical political organization in non-industrial societies usually based on kinship, and in which formal leadership is monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families or 'houses'. These elites form a ...

in Falaba District.

References

{{Districts of Sierra Leone Northern Province, Sierra Leone States and territories established in 2017 2017 establishments in Sierra Leone