Segbwema is a town in

Kailahun District Kailahun District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital city, capital and largest city is the town of Kailahun. The second most populous city in the district is Segbwema. Other major towns in Kailahun District inclu ...

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 ...

. The town is a major business and agricultural centre. Segbwema lies approximately 20 miles northeast of

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

and about 225 miles south-east of

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 ...

(further by road). The population of Segbwema was 7,961 in the 2004 censusRepublic of Sierra Leone: 2004 Population and Housing Census: Analytical Report on Population Distribution, Migration and Urbanisation in Sierra Leone.
''Ibrahim Mohamed Sesay, Andrew A. Karam, Jinnah J. Ngobeh.'' Published November 2006. with a current estimate of 16,53

The population of Segbwema is

ethnically An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

diverse, though 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 pred ...

make up the majority of the population. Segbwema is home to the Nixon Memorial Hospita

http://friendsofnixon.org.uk/], one of the main hospitals in Kailahun District. The hospital serves Segbwema and its surrounding areas

Geography

Segbwema is a hilly town that is divided roughly in two by the small river Nyeya, which is a tributary of the Maleh river. The town belongs to and is the headquarters of Njaluahun chiefdom, a major chiefdom nestled between the Moa and Maleh rivers. Njaluahun is bounded by the eastern chiefdoms of Nongowa, Jawei and Kpeje.

Demographics

Most of the population of Segbwema belong to the Mende ethnic group who are the predominant tribal group in Eastern Sierra Leone. The Mende population of Segbwema are mainly concentrated in the Taima, Pendembulo, Kabalahun, Manina, Sosso Town, Largo Square and Nyekehun sections of the town. Madingo and Fula population represent the other main ethnic groups and they are mostly located in Konotown, which is arguably the largest section of Segbwema. The town's Temne population are mainly located in Sosso Town and Kono town. The Limba population of Segbwema are located at the four main entrances to Segbwema; Largo Square, Kabalahun, Sosso town and the Segbwma-Daru road. Segbwema also has ethnic Hausa, Konyanka and Krio populations. The reason for the multi-ethnic nature of Segbwema is that it was a major trading center and railway station during the heyday of the Sierra Leone railway as it was the last major rail town in the Eastern Province. Segbwema also had the best health care center in the Eastern province, the Nixon Memorial Methodist Hospital. Many people came to work at Nixon and made the town home. The various ethnic groups have existed in the town for decades without any significant problems. Segbwema, though it is a rural town, has a truly metropolitan feel as all the various groups have a strong sense of community and citizenship. Everybody participates without fear in the internal politics of the town and intermarriages has also strengthened tribal affiliations. One major reason for this close-knit multi-ethnicity is that everybody in Segbwema speaks Mende and almost all speak Krio. 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 lineal descendant, descendants of freed African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Liberated African slaves who settled in ...

is by far the most widely spoken language in Segbwema and is the primary means of communication in the city. In essence there is no communication problem among the different communities. Segbwema is also unique in that every ethnic group is allowed to serve in the administration of the town, either as chiefs or as tribal authorities.

Destruction during civil war

As most of the major towns in rural Sierra Leone, Segbwema was heavily destroyed during the civil war. Most of the developments we were proud of: our secondary schools, Wesley and Holy Ghost, our police station and police barracks, the Nixon Memorial Hospital, the Nixon nursing Schools, the Standard bank and many other landmarks were burnt down by rebels of the RUF.

Other Segbwemas

Sierra Leone has another, smaller town of the same name in the Southern Province.

References

{{reflist Populated places in Sierra Leone Eastern Province, Sierra Leone