Kono District is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

in the Eastern Province of

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

. Its capital and largest city is Koidu, Koidu Town. Motema is the second most populous city in the district. The other major towns in the district include

Yengema Yengema is a town in Kono District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone, lying approximately west of Koidu, Koidu Town (the largest city in Kono District), and about east of Freetown. The major industries in and around Yengema are diamond m ...

, Tombodu, Jaiama Nimikor and Sewafe. The district is the largest

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

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 Koinadugu District is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. It is the largest District in Sierra Leone in geographical area, and one of the least most densely populated. Its capital and largest city is Kabala, which is also one of ...

to the northeast and Kailahun District to the southeast. Kono District is divided into fourteen chiefdoms. Kono District is one of the most ethnically diverse Districts in Sierra Leone and is home to a large population of many of Sierra Leone's ethnic groups, with no single ethnic group forming a majority. Kono District population is religiously diverse among

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

, though Muslims make up the majority of the population in Kono District. Before the civil war, Kono District had a population well over 600,000 ; however, it experienced devastation during the

Sierra Leone Civil War The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002), or the Sierra Leonean Civil War, was a civil war in Sierra Leone that began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), with support from the special forces of Liberian dictator Char ...

, which forced many of the residents out of the district. The district was heavily looted and constantly fought over due to the rich

reserves in the area.

Government and Politics

Kono 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 district. The District Council Chairman is elected directly by the residents of Kono District in every four years. The Kono District Council Hall located in the district capital Koidu, Koidu Town, is the official Hall where members of the Kono District Council meet. The current chairman of Kono district council is Richard Abdulrahman Koninga of the (

All People's Congress The All People's Congress (APC) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, the other being its main political rival the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). The APC has been the main opposition party in Sierra Leone since 4 Ap ...

) (APC) who was sworn in on January 26, 2012, after winning the Kono District Local Council Elections. Richard Abdulrahman Koninga inauguration at the Kenema City Hall in Kenema Town was attended by president

Ernest Bai Koroma Ernest Bai Koroma (born 2 October 1953) is a Sierra Leonean politician who served as the fourth President of Sierra Leone from 17 September 2007 to 4 April 2018. Born and raised in Makeni in northern Sierra Leone, Koroma spent more than 24 ...

. He succeeded Finda Diana Konomanyi of the

(APC) whose tenure of office expired in 2012, leading to the 2012 Local Council Elections. The city of Koidu, Koidu Town is a municipality and has its own

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

, led by Mayor Saa Emerson Lamina. Each one of the fourteen chiefdoms in Kono District is led by a

paramount chief A paramount chief is the English-language designation for the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a chief-based system. This term is used occasionally in anthropological and ar ...

, who is highly influential. Paramount Chiefs hold significant powers and are highly respected across Sierra Leone. Kono District is similar to

swing states In American politics, the term swing state (also known as battleground state or purple state) refers to any state that could reasonably be won by either the Democratic or Republican candidate in a statewide election, most often referring to pres ...

in American politics, as the District is not considered a political stronghold of any political parties in Sierra Leone. This is primarily due to the ethnic diversity of the district's population and the fact that two of Sierra Leone's largest ethnic groups the Mende and Temne do not form a significant portion of the Kono District population . The Kono District representatives in the

Parliament of Sierra Leone Parliament of Sierra Leone is the legislative branch of the government of Sierra Leone. It is principally responsible for making laws. The Sierra Leone parliament consists of 146 members, of which 132 members are directly elected from across Si ...

is about equal between SLPP and APC members. Kono District is a major

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

stops in Sierra Leone Presidential election. The District has recently lean towards the APC in

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and local elections held in 2008 and 2011, though the SLPP still maintain strong support in the District. The SLPP previously controlled the Kono District Council

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

and the

Koidu Koidu Town (or Sefadu) 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 124,6based on the 2015 Sierra Leone national census. Koidu Town is the fifth larg ...

, until 2008 when the APC took control. The SLPP has won Kono District in the last three Sierra Leone Presidential elections held in 1996, 2002 and 2007. In the 2007 Sierra Leone presidential election, the SLPP presidential candidate

Solomon Berewa Solomon Ekuma Dominic Berewa (6 August 1938 – 5 March 2020) was Vice-President of Sierra Leone from May 2002 to September 2007. Standing as the candidate of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), he was defeated in the second round of the 200 ...

won the district over the APC candidate

, despite the fact that Koroma's vice presidential candidate

Alhaji Hajji ( ar, الحجّي; sometimes spelled Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. It is also often used to refer to an elder, since it ...

Samuel Sam-Sumana and Koroma's wife Sia Koroma are both natives of Kono District.

Ahmad Tejan Kabbah Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah (February 16, 1932 – March 13, 2014) was a Sierra Leonean politician who served twice as the 3rd President of Sierra Leone, from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2007. An economist and attorney by profession, K ...

of the SLPP won the District both in the 1996 and 2002 Sierra Leone Presidential elections.

Religion

Economy

Kono District is the largest

producer in Sierra Leone. Other important economic activities include

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

mining and agricultural production of

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

and cacao.

Education

Prominent Secondary Schools are: Koidu secondary school, Koidu Girls secondary school, Ansarul Islamic Boys secondary school, Ansarul Islamic Girls secondary school, Islamic secondary school Koidu, Sierra Leone Muslim Brotherhood secondary school, Jaiama secondary school, Yengema secondary school, Kono Model Academy, Aziz secondary school Motema.

Sport

Kono is home to Sierra Leonean Premier League club the

Diamond Stars The Diamond Stars Football Club is a Sierra Leonean professional Soccer, 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 Lea ...

of Kono. The club is one of the oldest, biggest, and most popular football clubs in

. The club have won the

Sierra Leonean FA Cup Sierra Leone FA Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is the national knockout cup competition in Sierra Leone. It was established in 1967. The competition is run by the Sierra Leone Football Association. Cup winners qualify for the CAF Confederation ...

once, in 1992. Famous local football clubs are Flamingo FC, Rangers FC, Cosmos FC & Farmers FC.

Administrative divisions

Chiefdoms

The district is made up of fourteen (Chiefdoms, and there are seventy-two sections across the district) of Sierra Leone, chiefdoms as the third level of administrative subdivision. Each chiefdom has one traditional ruler known as

Major towns

* Koidu, Koidu Town * Motema *

* Tombodu *

Yamandu Yamandu is a town in the Kono District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and ...

* Jaiama Nimikor * Sewafe

Towns and villages

* Foindu * Jaiama Sewafe *

Kaima Kaima is a small rural town in Kono District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. The town lies about to Yengema and to Koidu Town. The population of Kaima is estimated at 2,217 (2009). The town has two primary schools and one governmen ...

* Kamiendor * Kangama * Ndoyogbo * Nemeseidu * Ngiehun * Njagbwema * Njaiama * Peyima * Seidu* * Simbakoro * Tefeya * Tomendeh *(Yardu) (*Quidadu) *(Bayama) *(Chenedu) *(Faada) *(Koakor)

Popular culture

Kono District was the setting for much of '' Blood Diamond'', an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Honsou. The name ''Kono'' was also used in the 2005 film Lord of War as the cover name for the sea vessel ''Kristol'' to fool

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

agents searching for an illegal weapons shipment hidden in the Kristol's cargo.

Notable people from Kono District

* Samuel Sam-Sumana, former vice president of Sierra Leone * Johnny Paul Koroma, former

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

of Sierra Leone * Sia Koroma, first lady of Sierra Leone *Hon. Paramount Chief Sahr Fengai Korgbende Kaimachiande , , , , former Paramount Chief Member of Parliament for Kono and former Paramount Chief of Gbense Chiefdom * K-Man, Sierra Leonean musician * Patrick Bantamoi, football star *

Sam Bockarie Samuel Sam Bockarie, widely known as Mosquito (2 October 1964 – 5 May 2003), 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 ...

, former RUF leader *

Solomon Musa Solomon Anthony James Musa, also known as SAJ Musa, (born 1966 in Freetown, Sierra Leone – died January 1999) was an important military and political figure in the Sierra Leone Civil War. Overview In late April 1992, the Sierra Leone Army was i ...

, former vice chairman of the NPRC * Sidique Mansaray, football star * S.G.M. Fania, politician * Komba Yomba, football star * Komba Mondeh, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Sierra Leonean army * Francis Koroma, football star * Sahr Hassan Yomba Chairman Kono District I.T Association (KDITA) * Fuambai Sia Ahmadu, Sierra Leonean/American anthropologist and women's activist

Notes

Sources

*https://web.archive.org/web/20070121122533/http://www.statehouse-sl.org/member-parliament.html *http://www.mineralcommodities.com.au/mrc160606.php

External links

Unsustainable Growth in Kono
a development story in the Wikibook

Development Cooperation Handbook
{{Districts of Sierra Leone Districts of Sierra Leone Eastern Province, Sierra Leone