Kono Progressive Movement was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

in Kono,

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 ...

, that emerged in the mid-1950s with the backdrop of the expansion of diamond mining activities there are the growing feeling amongst a section of the Kono people that they were not reaping the benefits of the diamond boom. KPM was led by

Tamba Sungu Mbriwa Tamba may refer to: People * a traditional name among the Kono people of Sierra Leone, West Africa * Tamba Hali (born 1983), Liberia-born American football player *, Japanese sport wrestler * Tetsurō Tamba (1922–2006), Japanese actor Places * ...

. The movement became part of the political opposition, as there was a break between it and the ruling

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 ...

only a few months after the founding of KPM. Prominent figures in the area, such as Tamba Ngegba, J.S. Kpakiwa and T.R. Foyoh. ''Kono Mannda'' was the weekly newspaper of the party. The KPM was the only party-like organisation to emerge in rural Sierra Leone at the time. KPM contested two parliamentary seats in the 1957 elections. T.S. Mbriwa contested one of them, and won. In the other seat contested by KPM, the KPM candidate A.A. Mani was defeated by the SLPP candidate Paul Dunbar by a margin of 3105 to 3061 votes. However, since Dunbar was later disqualified on grounds of corruption, a by-election was held. In the by-election A.A. Mani defeated Dunbar's wife. In September 1958, KPM merged with the small

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 ...

-based

Sierra Leone Independence Movement Sierra Leone Independence Movement was a Freetown-based political party in Sierra Leone, was founded in 1957. The movement was led by Edward Wilmot Blyden III (grandson of Edward Wilmot Blyden Edward Wilmot Blyden (3 August 1832 – 7 Fe ...

, forming the

Sierra Leone Progressive Independence Movement Sierra Leone Progressive Independence Movement (also known as 'Dawoh' ('the pot')) was a political party in Sierra Leone, led by Paramount Chief from Kono, Tamba Sungu Mbriwa. The party was founded in 1958, through the merger of the Kono Progress ...

References

1950s establishments in Sierra Leone Defunct political parties in Sierra Leone {{SierraLeone-party-stub