Falaba 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, municip ...

in the Northern 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 to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

. It is one of the sixteen districts of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest town is Bendugu. Other towns in Falaba District include Falaba, Dankawalie, Sikunia, Krubola, Musaia Ganya and Mansadu. Falaba District is divided into thirteen chiefdoms. Falaba District is one of the largest districts in Sierra Leone by

land area This is a list of the world's countries and their dependencies, ranked by total area, including land and water. This list includes entries that are not limited to those in the ISO 3166-1 standard, which covers sovereign states and dependent ...

, However, it is one of the least populous districts in the country. Falaba District is known for its mostly conservative

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

population. Falaba District has a population of 205,353, based on 2018 estimate. In 2016, Falaba District was created out of Koinadugu District, and declared a newly created district by then Sierra Leone 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 y ...

, and was ratified by 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 149 members, of which 135 members are directly elected from across S ...

to officially become a district in the same year. Falaba District is one of the two newest districts created by the Government of Sierra Leone, along with Karene District. Falaba District borders Koinadugu District,

Bombali District Bombali is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Makeni, which is also the largest city in the north. The Bombali district is one of the sixteen districts of Sierra Leone. Bombali is one of the lar ...

Kono District 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 ...

and the

Republic of Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

. Falaba District is an entirely

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

district that is composed of mostly

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

and

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

. Many of the towns and

villages A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village ...

in Falaba District are in far distance and remote areas within the district. The main ethnic groups in Falaba District are the Kuranko, Yalunka, Fula and Mandingo. Falaba District is home to the largest population of ethnic Yalunka in Sierra Leone. The overwhelming majority (an estimated 95%) of the people of Falaba District are

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

of the

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

tradition of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. Large number of Islamic schools, commonly known as

Madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

, are found throughout Falaba District. Falaba District is known for its mostly religious Muslim population. Falaba District has the largest percentage of Muslims in Sierra Leone, and is one of two Districts in Sierra Leone where Muslims make up over 90% of the population (along with its neighbor Koinadugu District). Falaba District is home, however, to a small but significant

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

minority at about 5%. There are several

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

churches in the District.

Government and politics

Politically, Falaba District is a swing district as it is home to a large percentage of supporters of Sierra Leone's two major political parties: the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) and 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). At the

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

, Falaba District is governed by a directly elected district council, headed by a directly elected district council charman, in whom local executive power is granted. The current district council chairman of Falaba District is Abdulai Maranda Sajor, of the

who was elected district council chairman of Falaba District with 45.8% of the vote, as he narrowly defeated the Sierra Leone People's Party's candidate in the 2018 Falaba District council elections. The chiefdoms'

paramount chiefs A paramount chief is the English-language designation for a king or queen or 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 anthr ...

of Falaba District are very powerful and extremely influential, especially in village within Falaba District. The Paramount chiefs usually resolve family dispute and minor crimes. In the 2018 Sierra Leone Presidential election, Samura Kamara of then ruling All People's Congress received 57% of the votes in Falaba District, and

Julius Maada Bio Julius Maada Wonie Bio (born 12 May 1964) is a Sierra Leonean politician and former army officer who has served as the 5th president of Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018. He is a retired brigadier in the Sierra Leone Army and was the military ...

of then major opposition Sierra Leone People's Party received 42% of the votes in Falaba District. After the 2018 Sierra Leone Parliamentary election, Falaba District currently has four elected representatives in the Sierra Leone Parliament, and they are Mohamed Billow Shaw (SLPP), Alusine Marah (APC), Alhasan Jeroh Kamara (APC), and Lahai Marah (APC).

Administrative divisions

Chiefdoms

After the 2017 local administrative reorganization, Falaba District has made up of thirteen

chiefdoms A chiefdom is a political organization of people represented or governed by a chief. Chiefdoms have been discussed, depending on their scope, as a stateless, state analogue or early state system or institution. Usually a chief's position i ...

as the third level of administrative subdivision. Prior to the 2017 local administrative reorganization, Dembelia Sikunia, Folasaba, Mongo, Neya and Sulima Chiefdoms were formerly from Koinadugu District. # Delemandugu – ? # Dembelia – Musaia # Dembelia Sikunia – Sikunia # Folasaba – ? # Kamadu Yiraia – ? # Kebelia – ? # Kulor Saradu – ? # Mongo – Bendugu # Morfindugu – ? # Neya – Krubola # Nyedu – ? # Sulima – Falaba # Wollay Barawa – ? ;Notes:

Law enforcement and safety

The

Sierra Leone Police The Sierra Leone Police (SLP) is the national police force of the Republic of Sierra Leone. It is primarily responsible for law enforcement and crime investigation throughout Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Police is under the jurisdiction of ...

is the primary law enforcement agency and crimes investigation in Falaba District. However, the

Paramount chiefs A paramount chief is the English-language designation for a king or queen or 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 anthr ...

and the traditional council also investigate minor crimes and solve family and community conflict in Falaba District. The Paramount chiefs are very influential within their

in Falaba District.

References

{{Districts of Sierra Leone Northern Province, Sierra Leone States and territories established in 2017 2017 establishments in Sierra Leone