Kenema

Kenema, Sierra Leone
Kenema clocktower
Country	Sierra Leone
Province	Eastern Province
District	Kenema District
Government
• Type	City council
• Mayor	Brima Kargbo (SLPP)
Population  (2006 estimate)
• Total	169,937 [1].
Time zone	UTC-5 (GMT)

Downtown Kenema

Kenema is the third largest city in Sierra Leone (after the capital Freetown and Bo) and the largest city in the Eastern Province with a population of 128,402 in the 2004 census and a more recent estimate of 169,937 [2]. The city is the capital and administrative center of Kenema District. Kenema is a major trade and commercial center and serves as the economic and financial center of Eastern Sierra Leone, along with Koidu Town. Kenema lies 200 miles east-south-east of Freetown [3].

Kenema is an ethnically diverse city and is home to significant numbers of virtually all the country's ethnic groups, though the Mende people make up the largest ethnic group. The city is the primary home of the Eastern Polytechnic College, one of Sierra Leone's major colleges that offer degree and certificate. The Krio language is the most widely spoken language in the city and is used as the primary language of communication among the residents.

The city grew along with a now-closed railway, around the logging and carpentry industries, and recently with diamond mines first discovered in 1931.

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 Chief Brima Kargbo, 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.

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, though the Mende people make up the largest ethnic group. Kenema has the second largest Sierra Leonean-Lebanese population in the country and is also home to many Liberians.

Kenema

Sport

As in 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 play in the Sierra Leone National Premier League, the top football league in country.

Education

The clock tower in Kenema

As in 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.

Notable colleges in Kenema

• Eastern Polytechnic

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.

Media

The two main radio stations in Kenema are Eastern Radio 101.9 and Radio Nongowa - SPIN FM 101.3. Sierra Leone's national radio and television 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.

Notable people from Kenema

• Mohamed Kallon, football star
• Emerson, musician
• Paul Kpaka, football star
• Alpha Lansana, football star
• Kei Kamara, football star
• Brima Sesay, football star
• Kemokai Kallon, football star
• Musa Kallon, football manager
• Sandy Moijueh, Ahmadiyya Sec. School Principal and Chairman of Read Cross
• Joseph C. Kapuwa, Late Paramount Chief of the Nongowa Chiefdom
• J. B. Dauda, a Sierra Leonean politician and current Foreign minister of Sierra Leone.

Namesakes

There are a number of places in Sierra Leone with this name.

Gallery

Below are various images of the streets of Kenema.

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External links

• The Kenema District Association