Kenema is the third largest city in Sierra Leone, and the largest city in the country's Eastern Province. It is the capital of Kenema District and a major economic center of the Eastern Province. At the 2015 national census, Kenema had a population of 200,354. Kenema is located approximately 200 miles from Freetown, and 60 kilometres (40 mi) south of Bo.
Samuel Sam Bockarie, widely known as Mosquito, was a Sierra Leonean politician and army commander who served as a leader of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Bockarie was infamous during the Sierra Leone Civil War for his brutal tactics, which included amputation, mutilation, and rape. He earned the nickname "Mosquito" for his ability to attack when his enemies were off-guard, mainly during the night. During his service in the RUF, he befriended future Liberian president Charles Taylor, and RUF commander Foday Sankoh. When Sankoh was imprisoned from March 1997 until April 1999, Bockarie served as commander of the RUF in his place.
Kono District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Koidu Town. Motema is the second most populous city in the district. The other major towns in the district include Yengema, Tombodu, Jaiama Nimikor and Sewafe. The district is the largest diamond producer in Sierra Leone. The population of Kono District is 505,767. Kono District borders Kenema District to the southwest, The Republic of Guinea to the east, Koinadugu District to the northeast and Kailahun District to the southeast. Kono District is divided into fourteen chiefdoms.
The Diamond Stars Football Club is a Sierra Leonean professional football club based in Koidu Town, Kono District, Sierra Leone. The club represent the diamond-rich Kono District and is a member of the Sierra Leone National Premier League, the top football league in Sierra Leone. The club is coached by a Class A Coach ZAPA.
Sidique Mansaray is a Sierra Leonean footballer, who currently plays as a striker for the East End Lions in Sierra Leone National Premier League. He is also a regular member of the Leone Stars, Sierra Leone national football team. in 2001, Mansaray scored the only goal as Sierra Leone defeated Nigeria 1-0 in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Freetown
The Kono people are a major Mande-speaking ethnic group in Sierra Leone at 5.2% of the country's total population. Their homeland is the diamond-rich Kono District in eastern Sierra Leone. The Kono are primarily diamond miners and farmers.
Alhaji Samuel Sidique Sam-Sumana is a Sierra Leonean politician who was the Vice President of Sierra Leone from September 17, 2007, to March 17, 2015. Sam-Sumana stood as the vice-presidential candidate of the All People's Congress (APC) in the 2007 presidential election, alongside presidential candidate Ernest Bai Koroma. The APC ticket defeated the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) presidential candidate Solomon Berewa and vice presidential candidate Momodou Koroma. Sam-Sumana took office as vice president on September 17, 2007.
Sia Mary Musa was a Sierra Leonean politician and activist from Koidu-Sefadu, Kono District. She was the mayor of Koidu, and a member of the opposition Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP).
The 2007 Koidu-Sefadu protest was a protest by 400 Sierra Leoneans in the town of Koidu-Sefadu in Eastern Province. The protest was aimed at the local diamond mine which the residents claimed to have harmed both them and the local environment. The result of the protest was a clampdown by Sierra Leonean police and the death of 2 protesters.
Solomon Yambassu is a Sierra Leonean footballer, who plays for East End Lions in Sierra Leone National Premier League.
Koidu Secondary School is a government-sponsored secondary school located in Koidu City, Kono District, Sierra Leone. The school is the largest and most prominent secondary school in Kono District and one of the largest in the country. The current principal is Mr KAI E. JIMMY.
Mohamed Saccoh(born in Koidu Town, Sierra Leone), better known by his stage name K-Man, is a Sierra Leonean rapper and one of the most famous musicians from Sierra Leone. K-Man is known for his soft rap tone. He rapped mainly in English and the Krio language as well as occasionally in the Madinka language.
Ansarul Islamic Boys Secondary School also known as"A School," is a government sponsored public secondary school located in Tankoro Chiefdom, Koidutown, Kono District, Sierra Leone. The school was founded on Islamic Principle in 1974 by two illustrious Fula businessmen, Alhaji Sajalieu Bah, and Alhaji Chewtor Jalloh. The school is an affiliate of the Sierra Leone Ansarul Islamic Mission. The school's motto is "Service To Mankind." The school is the first and only boys secondary school in Koidutown. The school is regarded as one of the most prominent Secondary schools in the region. The school's alumni includes medical doctors, theologists, diplomats, politicians, paramount chief, military officers, lawyers, educators, athletes, and business entrepreneurs. Although the school has an Islamic tradition, students from all religious background are accepted, and the staff is made up of teachers from different religious background.
For the music label, see Motéma Music.
Ansarul Islamic Girls Secondary School (AIGSS) is a government-sponsored secondary school located in Tankoro Chiefdom, Koidutown, Kono District, Sierra Leone. It was founded in 1974 on Islamic Principle as part of the Sierra Leone Ansarul Islamic Mission (SLAIM), by two Fulani Philanthropists, Alhaji Sajalieu Bah and Alhaji Chewtor Jalloh, as an all-girls secondary school. Although the school has an Islamic tradition, students from all religious background are accepted. The teaching staff is made up of teachers from different religious background.
Sierra Leone is home to about sixteen ethnic groups, each with its own language. In Sierra Leone, membership of an ethnic group often overlaps with a shared religious identity.
Saa Emerson Lamina is a Sierra Leonean politician and the Mayor of Koidu Town. Lamina is the youngest mayor in Sierra Leone's history, and at the time of his inauguration was the youngest mayor in West Africa.
Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh is a Sierra Leonean politician and the current vice president of Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018. Jalloh is a political scientist, businessman and a former United Nations official. Jalloh is a senior member of the Sierra Leone People's Party.
Alhaji Mohamed Bailor Barrie, simply referred to as Bailor Barrie or M.B. Barrie was a Sierra Leonean businessman, activist and philanthropist. He hailed from Sierra Leone's northern district of Koinadugu and was a member of the Fula ethnic group of which he later became a well known activist and leader. Barrie became prominent in Sierra Leone's post colonial economic environment in the 1970s as the first Fula to venture into the European-Lebanese dominated import business of motor vehicles. He became very successful in the booming diamond mining and trading industry in the 1970s and 1980s, which established him as one of Sierra Leone's most successful businessmen, even without a standard level of education. Then president of Sierra Leone Siaka Stevens was using Barrie's success to defend himself against critics attacking him for ignoring the country's crumbling educational sector, by claiming that one could be successful like Barrie without any standard level of education. Barrie died in a road accident in 1989 on his way from Kenema, in the eastern part of Sierra Leone.
In August 2022, violent protests and riots broke out in Sierra Leone. The protests were concentrated in the capital, Freetown, and in the north, including Makeni and Kamakwie. The protests were triggered by the nation's cost of living crisis. A nationwide curfew was implemented. At least twenty-seven civilians and six police officers died in the protests.
Sierra Leone 
