Kabala, Sierra Leone
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Kabala, Sierra Leone |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country |  Sierra Leone |
| Province | Northern Province |
| District | Koinadugu District |
| Population (1985) | |
| - Total | 13,923 |
| Time zone | GMT (UTC-5) |
Kabala is the capital and largest city of Koinadugu District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The town had a population of 13,923 in the 1985 census, but recent estimates vary from 15,000 to 80,000. It is one of the main cities in northern Sierra Leone and is set in a rural lanscape. Kabala lies about 80 miles north-east of Makeni and about 200 miles north-east of the nation's capital Freetown. The population of Kabala is predominanted by the Mandingo ethnic group. Other ethnic groups with significant population are the Limba and Kuranko.
Like in virtualy all parts of Sierra Leone, the Krio language is widely spoken in the city of Kabala.
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[edit] History
After the Anglo-Franco settlement of 1895, the British colonial administration post was moved from Falaba to Kabala, then an insignificant village not shown on the detailed maps of the British. Kabala is a place name in the Limba language literally meaning 'at Bala' or 'Bala's place.' The Limba languages utilizes the prefix 'ka-' as a place identifier. The town incorporates two chiefdom centers: Gbawuria the center for the Limba chiefdom of Wara Wara Yagala and Yogomaia the center for the Koranko chiefdom of Sengbe. With respect to native governance Kabala is literally split between the Limba and Koranko Paramount Chiefs. Kabala grew rapidly under British rule. Traders and merchants were attracted to this colonial administrative town from the 1930s, and after 1947 shop premises were opened by Lebanese traders.
In 2000 the United Nations reported that, after the Civil War, "Kabala, in the north, life appears to be returning to normal following fighting". In 2002 newspapers reported a visit to the town by "Bangladesh's visiting foreign minister", suggesting that the town had sufficiently recovered for it to be shown to important overseas visitors.
[edit] Media
Bintumani 93.5 is the local radio station that serves Kabala and the rest of Koinadugu District. Sierra Leone's national radio and televesion stations, SLBS are on the air in the city, as well as The bbc world service, CNN International, and several other private stations are on the air for those who have satellite.
[edit] Ethnicity
Kabala is an ethnically diverse city, with the Mandingo being the largest ethnic group. Other ethnic group in the city with significant population are the Kuranko and Limba.
[edit] Education
There are government-recognised secondary schools, all of which have religious affiliations. There is a new Islamic school, the Kabala Islamic Secondary School, which is as yet unrecognised.
[edit] Sport
Like the rest of Sierra Leone, football is by far the most popular sport in Kabala. The city major football team is the Bintumani Scorpions. The club currently playing in the Sierra Leone Nationwide First Division, the second highest football league in Sierra Leone.
[edit] Industries and infrastructure
The town is known for its cloth and tailoring, and especially for the of the making of the "ronko" gown, a traditional Limba and Koranko war shirt which is believed to have supernatural powers. The electricity supply is erratic. There are medical facilities. There are a number of traditional circular hut settlements on the outskirts, but mostly the buildings are single-story tin & brick.
The surrounding landscape is agriculturally rich, and there is seasonal rice-planting.
There is an 80-mile bus service from Makeni, but the surfaced highway peters out some 25-miles from Kabala and forms a winding dirt track.
There is a large Central Business District and roofed market, with large well-stocked Lebanese-run department stores. The market serves as an unofficial social centre as well as a trading centre. There is said to be a branch of Barclays Bank in the town.
[edit] Leisure
There is a cinema, which shows films. There is a traditional New Year's Day picnic on Gbawuria Hill to the west of the town.
