Kenema

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Coordinates: 7°53′N 11°11′W / 7.883, -11.183
Kenema, Sierra Leone
Kenema Market
Location in Sierra Leone
Country	Sierra Leone
Province	Eastern Province
District	Kenema District
Government
- Mayor	Evans Brima Gbemeh (SLPP)
Population (2006)
- Total	143,137 [1]
Time zone	GMT (UTC-5)

Kenema

Kenema is the third largest city in Sierra Leone, after the capital Freetown and Bo and the largest city in the Eastern Province. The city has an estimated population of 143,137 [2]. Kenema serves as the capital and administrative center of Kenema District, as well as the Eastern Province. It grew along with a now-closed railway, around the logging and carpentry industries, and recently with diamond mines first discovered in 1931. Kenema lies about 185 miles east and south of the nation's capital Freetown. Like in virtually all parts of Sierra Leone, the Krio language is widely spoken throughout the city of Kenema.

Until the end of 2005 a large battalion of Pakistani peace-keeping troops was stationed in Kenema under the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone, UNAMSIL. The troops based in Kenema supported the Government of Sierra Leone in maintaining peace and stability in the Eastern Province following Sierra Leone's brutal 11-year civil war from 1990 to 2001 and in view of the unstable situation in neighbouring Liberia at that time.

1 Government
2 Demographics
3 Sport
4 Education
5 Notable colleges in Kenema
6 Health
7 Media
8 Notable people from Kenema
9 External links

[edit] Government

The city of Kenema is governed with a city council form of government, which is headed by a mayor, in whom executive authority is vested. The mayor is responsible for the general management of the city and for seeing that all local and national laws are enforced. The mayor is elected directly by the residents of Kenema. The current mayor of Kenema is Evans Brima Gbemeh, he is a member of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), currently an opposition party and one of the three major political parties in Sierra Leone.

[edit] Demographics

Kenema is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in Sierra Leone. The city is home to all of the country's ethnic groups. Kenema has the second largest Sierra Leonean-Lebanese population in the country and is also home to many Liberians.

[edit] Sport

Like the rest of the country, football is by far the most popular sport in Kenema. The city two popular football clubs, the Kamboi Eagles and Gem Stars are currently playing in the Sierra Leone National Premier League, the top football league in country.

[edit] Education

Like the rest of Sierra Leone, Kenema has an education system with six years of primary school (Class 1-6), and six years of secondary school (Form 1-6); secondary schools are further divided into Junior secondary school (Form 1-3) and Senior secondary school (Form 4-6). Primary schools usually start from ages 6 to 12, and secondary schools usually start from ages 13 to 18. Primary Education is free and compulsory in government-sponsored public schools.

[edit] Notable colleges in Kenema

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Eastern Polytechnic

[edit] Health

Kenema and Bo are endemic areas for a highly contagious tropical hemorragic fever known as Lassa fever, and Kenema hospital is the centre of an international effort to combat the disease with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAMSIL. New laboratories to improve rapid diagnosis are being installed at the hospital, which admits between 250 and 500 suspected cases per year.

[edit] Media

The two main radio radio stations in Kenema are Eastern Radio 101.9 and Radio Gbaft 91.0. Sierra Leone's national radio and televesion stations, SLBS TV, and SLBS Radio are on the air in Kenema. The BBC World Service, CNN International, and several other international stations are on the air in Kenema on satellite only.