Kailahun

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Kailahun
Kailahun, Sierra Leone
Kailahun Government Hospital.jpg
Kailahun Government Hospital at its reopening in 2004
CIASierraLeoneKailahun.jpg
Coordinates: 8°16′38″N10°34′26″W / 8.27722°N 10.57389°W / 8.27722; -10.57389
Country Flag of Sierra Leone.svg Sierra Leone
Province Eastern Province
District Kailahun District
Government
 • Town Chief of KailahunAlpha Ndoleh
Elevation
303 m (994 ft)
Population
 (2013)
 • Total30,411
Time zone UTC0 (GMT)

Kailahun is the capital of Kailahun District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Kailahun is a major business and commercial center of Kailahun District. The population was 13,108 in the 2004 census, [1] a 2006 estimate of 18,411 and a current estimate of about 30,411.[ citation needed ] Kailahun lies in the far east of Sierra Leone, approximately 200 miles east of Freetown (320 miles by road), about 51 miles north east of Kenema (75 miles by road), and near the border of Liberia.

Contents

Kailahun is a trade center, and is one of the major towns in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. The population of Kailahun is largely from the Mende ethnic group. As with most parts of Sierra Leone, the Krio language of the Sierra Leone Creole people is by far the most widely spoken language in Kailahun and is the primary means of communication in the city. [2] [3]

Government

The town is home to Kailahun district council and the District Council Hall. David Keili Coomber is the town chief of Kailahun. [4] Kailahun, along with the entire Kailahun District is governed with a district council form of government, which is headed by a District Council Chairman, who is responsible for the general management of the town and for seeing that all local and national laws are enforced. The District Council Chairman is elected directly by the residents of the district of Kailahun. The current chairman of Kailahun district council is Tom Nyuma of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). Nyuma won the July 2008 Sierra Leone local council elections in a landslide with 75% of the vote. The candidate of the People's Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) came in distant second, followed by the candidate of the All People's Congress (APC). Nyuma replaced fellow SLPP member Augustine Kortu who was the District Council Chairman until July 2008. [5] Kortu is from the minority Kissi ethnic group.

Media

The local radio station in Kailahun is a private station Radio Moa - The Voice of the Voiceless on 101.5 FM] which operates from Radio House. The Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS) television and radio station, are on the air in Kailahun. BBC World Service, and several other international TV stations are on the air in the city, via satellite.

Ethnicity

The population of Kailahun is largely from the Mende. Minority ethnic groups with significant population are the Kissi, Kono, Sherbro and Vai.

Sport

Like the rest of the country, football is by far the most popular sport in the city. The city has several clubs in the lower divisions of the Sierra Leone football league.

Health

Kailahun Government Hospital at its reopening in 2004 Kailahun Government Hospital.jpg
Kailahun Government Hospital at its reopening in 2004

Kailahun is home to Kailahun Government Hospital which was refurbished after being damaged in the Sierra Leone Civil War and was reopened in 2004. [6]

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Jusu Q. B. Sawi is a Sierra Leonean politician from the opposition Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) who is currently a member of Parliament of Sierra Leone representing Kailahun District. Sawi first ran for a seat in parliament in the 2002 general election, in which he won by a large margin. He won re-election in the 2007 general election, although the SLPP lost the majority of seats in parliament to the then opposition All People's Congress (APC). Jusu Sawi is a member of the Mende ethnic group from Kailahun District.[ deceased]

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References

  1. ↑ Republic 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.
  2. ↑ "Krio Translation Services". Language9.com. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  3. ↑ Oyètádé, B. Akíntúndé; Fashole-Luke, Victor (15 February 2008). "Sierra Leone: Krio and the Quest for National Integration". Language and National Identity in Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 122–140. ISBN   978-0-19-928675-1.
  4. ↑ Bampia J, Bundu (2008-04-09), 'Fambul Tok' Boosts Kailahun District Council in Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone: AWARENESS TIMES, retrieved 2008-07-25
  5. ↑ "IF YOU DO NOT VOTE FOR APC, You'll Get No Development Project in Kailahun" - William Juana Smith and Sam Sumana Threaten the People of Kailahun., Sierra Leone: The New People Newspaper Online, 2008-06-23, archived from the original on 2008-07-03, retrieved 2008-07-25
  6. ↑ "USAID Rebuilds Kailahun Hospital". USAID. 11 March 2004. Archived from the original on 15 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-23.

8°16′38″N10°34′26″W / 8.27722°N 10.57389°W / 8.27722; -10.57389

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