Kailahun District

Kailahun District

Location of Kailahun District in Sierra Leone
Coordinates: 8°10′N 10°45′W / 8.167°N 10.750°W / 8.167; -10.750Coordinates: 8°10′N 10°45′W / 8.167°N 10.750°W / 8.167; -10.750
Country Sierra Leone
Province Eastern Province
Capital Kailahun
Largest city Kailahun
Government
 • Type District Council
 • Council Chairman Alex Bhonapha (SLPP)
Area
 • Total 3,859 km2 (1,490 sq mi)
Population (2010)[1]
 • Total 409,520
 • Density 110/km2 (270/sq mi)
Time zone Greenwich Mean Time (UTC-5)

Kailahun District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is the town of Kailahun. The other major towns in the district include Segbwema, Koindu, Pendembu and Daru. As of 2010, the district has a population of 409,520.[1] Kailahun District is subdivided into fourteen chiefdoms.

The District of Kailahun borders Liberia to the east, Guinea and the Kono District to the north, and Kenema District to the west. The border of the district with Guinea is formed by a section of the Moa River.[2] The total area of the district is 4,859 km2 (1,876 sq mi). The population of Kailahun District is largely from the Mende ethnic group. The district is predominantly muslim.

Kailahun District is the birthplace of former Sierra Leone's president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, who was born in the town of Pendembu.

Major towns

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 in the District and is responsible for the general management of the district and for seeing that all local laws are enforced. 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 Alex Bhonapha of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), who easily won the 2012 District Chairperson election with 75.73%, defeating his main opponent Augustine Kortu of the All People's Congress (APC) who took 20.31%.[3]

Kailahun District is a reliable political stronghold of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), the main opposition party in Sierra Leone. The District overwhelmingly supports the SLPP by a large majority in Presidential, Parliamentary and local councils elections. The SLPP had won every Sierra leone president elections in the District by a large majority; including the 2012 Presidential election, when the SLPP presidential candidate Julius Maada Bio won 73.3% of the vote in the District, as he easily defeated the incumbent president Ernest Bai Koroma in the District who took 22.6%.[4]

Radio

Radio Moa FM 1015.5 Kailahun

Demographics of Kailahun District

The population of Kailahun District is almost entirely from the Mende.

Economy

Kailahun has a mixed economy, made up of small-scale mining as well as agricultural production of coffee, cacao and rice. Local Government collects property taxes with the assistance of Revenue Development Foundation

Divisions

Chiefdoms of Kailahun District

The district is made up of fourteen chiefdoms as the third level of administrative subdivision.

Major towns

Notable people from Kailahun District

References

  1. 1 2 http://archive.is/20121216142937/http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=srcg&lng=en&des=wg&srt=npan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=1500&geo=0
  2. ↑ Katrina Manson and James Knight (2009). Sierra Leone. Bradt Travel Guides., page 275.
  3. ↑ http://www.nec-sierraleone.org/index_files/Mayor_Chairperson%20Result%202012.pdf
  4. ↑ http://www.nec-sierraleone.org/index_files/STATEMENT%20%20FROM%20NEC%20CHAIRPERSON%20(press%20district).pdf

External links

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