Niawa Lenga Chiefdom is a

chiefdom 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 the northeastern part of the

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 ...

, Southern 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 is Nengbema, located 27.6 km northeast of the city of Bo. The area of Niawa Lenga Chiefdom includes 241 km², derived from geospatial data. The neighbour chiefdoms of Niawa Lenga are: Valunia (north), Komboya (northeast), Bagbwe (east), Kakua (south) and

Selenga The Selenga or Selenge ( ; bua, Сэлэнгэ гол / Сэлэнгэ мүрэн, translit=Selenge gol / Selenge müren; russian: Селенга́, ) is a major river in Mongolia and Buryatia, Russia. Originating from its headwater tributaries, ...

(west).

Demographics

According to the 2015 census 13.955 people lived in Niawa Lenga chiefdom, 6.789 males and 7.166 females. All inhabitants live in rural areas. In 2004 there were 11.109 inhabitants (5.214 males/5.895 females), which means that there was a population growth of 2.1 % per year between 2004 and 2015.

Sections

There are four sections in this chiefdom: Upper Niawa in the Northeast, Yalenga in the Northwest, Lower Niawa in the Center and Baimba in the South. The capital Nengbema is located in the Lower Niawa section.

Infrastructure and Transport

A main (unpaved) west–east highway connects the Niawa Lenga Chiefdom with the Bo-Mogeri-Yele highway in the west and regions east and southeast, namely in the Bagwe, Komboya and Baoma Chiefdoms. 10.5 km of this highway are within the Niawa Lenga Chiefdom. Nengbema and other villages east of it like Nyandeama, Tondoya and

Blama Blama is a town and the seat of Small Bo Chiefdom Kenema District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Blama is located on the highway from Bo, Sierra Leone, Bo to Kenema, the largest city in Kenema District and the Eastern Province overa Bl ...

, all within the Lower Niawa Section, are located at the highway. Other important villages like Njagbewa in Baima Section,

Sahn A ''sahn'' ( ar, صَحْن, '), is a courtyard in Islamic architecture, especially the formal courtyard of a mosque. Most traditional mosques have a large central ''sahn'', which is surrounded by a ''Riwaq (arcade), riwaq'' or arcade (architect ...

in Yalenga Section and Ngogbebu in Upper Niawa Section are connected with this west–east highway via minor roads.

Government and politics

The current chief is George Gbaniey Njiabo, elected by the eligible councillors of the chiefdom on December 7, 2002. He received 72 votes, while Emmanuel Kombay-Nallay received 64. The name of the chief was listed as Alhaji George Njiabo by Tristan Reed in 2012. The chief during the civil war, Mrs. Sufi Nail, fled the chiefdom for two years in 1991 until 1993. According to Reed there are five ruling houses in this chiefdom, namely Njiabo (headquarter:

), Yoki, Nail (headquarter: Njagbewa), Kurabanda and Mone (headquarter of both: Ngogbebu). The fact that these ruling houses have different headquarters points to the fact that Niawa Lenga is an amalgamated chiefdom. The names of the original chiefdoms and the year of amalgamation would have to be added here.

References

Chiefdoms of Sierra Leone Southern Province, Sierra Leone {{SierraLeone-geo-stub