Kailahun 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 Eastern 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 ...

. Its capital city, capital and largest city is the town of

Kailahun Kailahun is the capital of Kailahun District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Kailahun is a major business and commercial center of Kailahun District. The population was 13,108 in the 2004 census, a 2006 estimate of 18,41and a current est ...

. The second most populous city in the district is

Segbwema Segbwema is a town in Kailahun District in the Eastern Province, Sierra Leone, Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. The town is a major business and agricultural centre. Segbwema lies approximately 20 miles northeast of Kenema and about 225 miles so ...

. Other major towns in Kailahun District include

Koindu Koindu is a town in Kailahun District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Koindu should not be confused with Koidu, which is a major diamond mining town in Kono District and market center. The population of Koindu is estimated at 16,751. K ...

Pendembu Pendembu is a town in Kailahun District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. The town population was 7,243 at the 2004 census but increased to 20,502 according to a more recent estimate. Pendembu lies approximately 36 miles from Kenema and ab ...

and

Daru Daru is the capital of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea and a former Catholic bishopric. Daru town falls under the jurisdiction of Daru Urban LLG. The township is entirely located on an island that goes by the same name, which is loca ...

. As of the 2015 census, the district had a population of 525,372. Kailahun District is subdivided into fourteen

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 ...

. The District of Kailahun borders

Kenema District Kenema District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital city, capital and largest city is Kenema, which is the third most populous city in Sierra Leone, after Freetown and Bo. Tongo is the second most populous city i ...

to the west,

Kono District Kono District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Koidu, Koidu Town. Motema is the second most populous city in the district. The other major towns in the district include Yengema, Tombodu, J ...

to the north, the

Republic of 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 Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast� ...

to the east, 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 ...

to the north. The border of the district with Guinea is formed by a section of the

Moa River The Moa River (Makona River) is a river in west Africa. It arises in the highlands of Guinea and flows southwest, forming parts of the Guinea–Liberia and the Guinea – Sierra Leone borders. It flows into the Southern Province, Sierra Leone, ...

., page 275. The total area of the district is . The population of Kailahun District is largely from the Mende ethnic group, though there are other ethnic groups with significant population in the district, including among them the Kissi, Mandingo and the

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 ...

. The major economic activities in the district are

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 ...

diamond mining Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

and

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

. The large majority of the people of Kailahun District 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 ...

, though with a 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 ...

minority. Kailahun District is a political stronghold 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 do ...

(SLPP), the current ruling party in Sierra Leone. Since Sierra Leone"s Independence in 1961 to present, the overwhelming majority of the people of Kailahun Districts support the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). Kailahun District is the

birthplace The place of birth (POB) or birthplace is the place where a person was born. This place is often used in legal documents, together with name and date of birth, to uniquely identify a person. Practice regarding whether this place should be a cou ...

of former Sierra Leone's president

Ahmad Tejan Kabbah Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah (February 16, 1932 – March 13, 2014) was a Sierra Leonean politician who served twice as the 3rd President of Sierra Leone, from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2007. An economist and attorney by profession, Ka ...

, who was born in the town of

Government and politics

Kailahun District is governed with a district council form of government, which is headed by a District Council Chairman, who is

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

in the District and is responsible for the general management of the district. The District Council Chairman is elected directly by the residents of the district of Kailahun every four years. The current chairman of Kailahun district council is Sahr Ahmed Lamin of the

(SLPP), who easily won the 2018 District Chairperson election with an overwhelming landslide victory Kailahun District is a reliable political stronghold of the

(SLPP), the current

ruling party The ruling party or governing party in a democratic parliamentary or presidential system is the political party or coalition holding a majority of elected positions in a parliament, in the case of parliamentary systems, or holding the executive ...

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 president elections in the District by over 73%; including the 2018 Presidential election, when the SLPP candidate

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 ...

won 89% of the votes in the District.

Radio

Radio Moa FM 105.5 Kailahun
SLBC 95.1, Radio Kissi Bendu FM 107.3 Koindu

Demographics of Kailahun District

The vast majority of the people of Kailahun District are ethnic Mende. However, Kailaun District is home to a significant minority of Mandingo, Kissi,

, Gola and Vai. The Vai, Kissi and Gola make up the majority of the population in the villages and small towns in Kailahun District at the international border with the

Economy

Kailahun has a mixed economy, made up of small-scale mining as well as agricultural production of

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

, cacao and

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

. Local Government collects property taxes with the assistance of Revenue Development Foundation

Administrative divisions

Chiefdoms

The district is made up of fourteen

as the third level of administrative subdivision. #

Dea The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

– Baiwala # Jaluahun –

# Jawei –

# Kissi Kama –

# Kissi Teng – Kangama # Kissi Tongi – Buedu # Luawa –

Malema Malema is a town in the district of Malema. It is situated within the province of Nampula in Mozambique. The district borders the districts of: Ribaue, Lalaua, Alto Molocue, Gurue, Cuamba, and others. The district is dependent on agricultur ...

– Jojoima # Mandu – Mobai # Peje Bongre – Manowa # Peje West – Bunumbu # Penguia – Sandar # Upper Bambara –

# Yawei – Bandajuma

Major towns

, largest city *

, district headquarters *

, second largest town *

, fourth largest *

Notable people from Kailahun District

, former President of Sierra Leone *

Steady Bongo lansana Sheriff (born on August 28, 1966 in Daru, Kailahun District, Sierra Leone) popularly known by his stage name Steady Bongo, is an internationally recognized Sierra Leonean musician and record producer. He is one of the most famous musicia ...

, Sierra Leonean musician * Hindowa Momoh, former President of the National Union of Sierra Leone Students * Ibrahim Sheriff, Founder, Sherix Webradio and Philanthropist * Moinina Conteh, JP, Master Farmer and former Member of Parliament for SLPP * Stephen Vandy Lansana, Senior Journalist, Premier Media and Solutions Media * Hon. Maigore Kallon, former chairman of the SLPP, former MP, former minister of Foreign affairs and international cooperation.

References

External links

"Kailahun District" at cocsl.com
* https://web.archive.org/web/20070121122533/http://www.statehouse-sl.org/member-parliament.html {{Districts of Sierra Leone

Eastern Province, Sierra Leone