Koidu Town is the capital and largest city of the diamond-rich Kono District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. The population of Koidu Town is 124,662 based on the 2015 Sierra Leone national census. Koidu Town is the fifth largest city in Sierra Leone by population, after Freetown, Kenema, Bo and Makeni. Koidu Town is a major urban, business, commercial and diamond trade center. Koidu Town lies approximately 280 miles east of Freetown, and about 60 miles north of Kenema.
Julius Maada Wonie Bio is a Sierra Leonean politician, and the current president of Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018. He is a retired brigadier general in the Sierra Leone Army and was the military head of state of Sierra Leone from 16 January 1996, to 29 March 1996, in a military junta government known as the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC). As the candidate of the main opposition Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), Bio defeated Samura Kamara of the ruling All People's Congress (APC) in the runoff vote of the 2018 Sierra Leone presidential election with 51.8% of the votes to Kamara's 48.2%. International and local observers declared the election free and fair. Bio succeeded Ernest Bai Koroma as president. As the main opposition leader, Bio was a critic of his predecessor president Ernest Bai Koroma and his administration. As president, Bio has overturned most of the policies of Ernest Bai Koroma, whom he accuses of corruption, and the two men rarely speak to each other.
Yengema is a town in Kono District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone, lying approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Koidu Town, and about 142 miles (229 km) east of Freetown. The major industries in and around Yengema are diamond mining and agriculture. The town is home to Yengema Airport, the main airfield serving Kono District. A 2012 estimate of Yengema population was 13,358 people.
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 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).
Kaima is a small rural town in Kono District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. The town lies about 15 mi (24 km) to Yengema and 40 mi (64 km) to Koidu Town. The population of Kaima is estimated at 2,217 (2009).
Solomon Yambassu is a Sierra Leonean footballer, who plays for East End Lions in Sierra Leone National Premier League.
Karamoh Kabba is a Sierra Leonean author, writer, novelist and journalist. He has written several accounts about the Sierra Leone civil war, such as A Mother’s Saga: An Account of the Rebel War in Sierra Leone and the self-published work Lion Mountain and Morquee: A Political Drama of Wish over Wisdom published by Sierra Leone Writers Series. He has published several short stories and verses of poems on the Web site, Sierra Leone Web.
Koidu Girls Secondary School is a government-sponsored secondary school for girls located in Koidutown, Kono District, Sierra Leone. Koidu Girls Secondary School was founded in 1952 to educate the girls in Koidu Town. It is the most prominent girls secondary school in the Kono District and one of the most prominent in Sierra Leone.
Mohamed SaccohJames Sesay, 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.
Jaiama Nimikor is a diamond-rich town in Kono District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. The town lies about 8 miles outside Koidu Town and 232 miles from Freetown. The towns of Jaiama and Nimikor are twin to form Jaiama Nimikor. The population of Jaiama Nimikor is 5,150. Like in virtually every towns in Kono District, Jaima Nimikor is a major diamond producer.
Sewafe is a diamond-mining town in Kono District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. The town is 30 miles west of Koidu Town and about 220 miles east of Freetown, on the highway linking Koidu Town to Kenema. Sewafe had an estimated population of 5,249 in 2009. The town has a government hospital and two police stations run by the Sierra Leone Police Force.
For the music label, see Motéma Music.
Saa Emerson Lamina, born in Koidutown, Kono District, is a Sierra Leoneean politician and the Mayor of Koidu City. Mr. Lamina is the youngest Mayor in Sierra Leone's history, and at the time of his inauguration was the youngest Mayor in West Africa. Mayor Lamina is adored and loved by the people of Kono for his humility and his progressive policies. He has always been focused on building his city lot by lot, block by block. He's known for bringing city government closer to the people, by holding regular town-hall meetings, press conferences and quarterly mobile council meetings in the various neighborhoods of the city, which earned him the nickname "the mayor of neighborhoods." Soon after taking office, Mayor Lamina called for more transparent, participatory, and collaborative government. Mayor Lamina, also known as Mr. Incorruptible, introduced strict anti-corruption programs and open-government policies to the dismay of the district political elites, paramount chiefs, and party leaders in the national capital Freetown, who have been the beneficiaries of decades long culture of corruption that has kept the district on the bottom in terms of development. The diamond rich Kono District has been the most neglected district in the country and its capital Koidu City was the most under-develop city in the country. The city was completely burnt down during the civil war in the nineteen-nineties. But under Mayor Lamina's leadership, Koidu City has seen a lot of improvements. His administration has installed hundreds of new solar lights in the city, paved major streets, rehabilitated and reconstructed schools, provided new furniture to primary and secondary schools, rehabilitated the Koidu Government Hospital and procured essential drugs for the hospital, established bi-lateral ties with cities around the world, and implemented policies targeting Diasporas as agents for development.
Mohamed Mansaray widely known as Kamarainba, is a Sierra Leonean politician, psychologist, and the current leader and chairman of the Alliance Democratic Party (ADP), a left wing populist political party he formed in Sierra Leone in opposition of the country"s two main political parties, the ruling APC party and the main opposition SLPP.