Port Loko District
Encyclopedia
Districts of Sierra Leone
||The provinces of Sierra Leone are divided into 14 districts. One traditional leader from each district occupies a seat in Sierra Leone's parliament...
in the Northern Province
Northern Province, Sierra Leone
The Northern Province is one of the four provincial divisions of Sierra Leone. It comprises five Districts and covers an area of 35,936 km² and with a population of 1,718,240 . Its administrative and economic center is Makeni...
of Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
with a population of 489,488 http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=1301507835&men=gpro&lng=en&des=wg&geo=-6644&srt=npan&col=adhoq&msz=1500 Its capital is Port Loko
Port Loko
Port Loko is the capital and second largest city of Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The city lies about , as the crow flies, north-east of the nation's capital Freetown and had a population of 21,961 in the 2004 census Port Loko lies on Banka Soka River, which flows...
and the largest city is Lunsar
Lunsar
Lunsar is one of the largest cities of Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The population was 16,567 in the 2004 census , but a 2010 estimate is 23,889 . The town lies about 22 miles east of the district capital of Port Loko and 65 miles east of Freetown . The...
. Other major town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
s in the district include Lungi
Lungi, Sierra Leone
Lungi is a coastal town in Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The town had a population of 4185 in the 2004 census , with a 2006 estimate of 7,720. It lies about 22 miles west of the district capital Port Loko, and is separated from Freetown by the Sierra Leone sea...
, Masiaka
Masiaka
Masiaka is a town in Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The town is located 40 miles from Freetown. It is one of the major towns in Northern Sierra Leone and is on the main highway linking Freetown to the Provinces...
, Rokupr, Gbinti
Gbinti
Gbinti is a town in Dibia chiefdom , Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The town lies about 52 miles from Freetown. The inhabitant of the town are almost entirely from the Temne ethnic group. The Temne language is widely spoken in the town...
and Pepel
Pepel
Pepel is a coastal town in the Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. - Railway :Pepel is connected by a gauge 84 km long railway to an iron ore mine at Marampa....
.
The district of Port Loko borders the Western Area to the west, Kambia District
Kambia District
Kambia District is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Kambia. The other major towns include Morebaya, Kasirie, Kamassassa, Kukuna and Mange. The district has a population estimated at 304,357....
to the north, Bombali District
Bombali District
Bombali District is district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. It's capital and largest city is Makeni, which is also the fifth largest city in Sierra Leone and the largest city in the north. The other major towns in the district include Kamakwie, Kamabai, Masingbi and Binkolo...
to the east and Tonkolili District
Tonkolili District
Tonkolili District is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Magburaka. The other major towns include Mathora, Magbass, Yonibana and Mile 91...
to the south. The district occupies a total area of 5,719 km² and comprises ten chiefdoms.
Major towns
- LunsarLunsarLunsar is one of the largest cities of Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The population was 16,567 in the 2004 census , but a 2010 estimate is 23,889 . The town lies about 22 miles east of the district capital of Port Loko and 65 miles east of Freetown . The...
- Port LokoPort LokoPort Loko is the capital and second largest city of Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The city lies about , as the crow flies, north-east of the nation's capital Freetown and had a population of 21,961 in the 2004 census Port Loko lies on Banka Soka River, which flows...
- Rokupr
- MasiakaMasiakaMasiaka is a town in Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The town is located 40 miles from Freetown. It is one of the major towns in Northern Sierra Leone and is on the main highway linking Freetown to the Provinces...
- LungiLungi, Sierra LeoneLungi is a coastal town in Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The town had a population of 4185 in the 2004 census , with a 2006 estimate of 7,720. It lies about 22 miles west of the district capital Port Loko, and is separated from Freetown by the Sierra Leone sea...
- PepelPepelPepel is a coastal town in the Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. - Railway :Pepel is connected by a gauge 84 km long railway to an iron ore mine at Marampa....
- GbintiGbintiGbinti is a town in Dibia chiefdom , Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The town lies about 52 miles from Freetown. The inhabitant of the town are almost entirely from the Temne ethnic group. The Temne language is widely spoken in the town...
Government
Port Loko District is governed with a district council form of government, which is headed by a District Council Chairman, who is the highest local government official in the district. The District Council Chairman is responsible for the general management of the district. The District Council Chairman is elected directly by the residents of Port Loko District. The current District Council Chairman of Port Loko District Council is Ahmed Munir Fofana of the All People's CongressAll People's Congress
The All People's Congress is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, the other is the Sierra Leone People's Party . The party was founded in 1960 by Pa Mucktarru Kallay, Allieu Badarr Koroma,Alhaji Sheik Gibril Sesay C A Kamara-Taylor, S A T Koroma and Abu Bakarr S Bangura...
(APC), following his victory in the 2008 Sierra Leone Local Elections.
Demographics
The Temne make up by far the largest ethnic group in the district. The predominant religionReligion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
in Port Loko District is Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
which is practised by around 80% of the population, with Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
practised by about 20%.
Economy
The district's main economic activities include scale mining and production of food crops(rice, cassava, and sweet potato).Sport
Bai Bureh WarriorsBai Bureh Warriors
The Bai Bureh Warriors of Port Loko commonly known as Bai Bureh Warriors is a Sierra Leonean professional football club based in Port Loko, Port Loko District, Sierra Leone. The club represent Port Loko District and is currently playing in the Sierra Leone National First Division, the second...
, one of the oldest soccer clubs in Sierra Leone is based in Port Loko
Port Loko
Port Loko is the capital and second largest city of Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The city lies about , as the crow flies, north-east of the nation's capital Freetown and had a population of 21,961 in the 2004 census Port Loko lies on Banka Soka River, which flows...
. The club won the Sierra Leonean FA Cup
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...
in 1978, and 1979.
Government
Port Loko District currently has six representatives in the Sierra Leonean Parliament, of which five members were elected for a 5-year term. Below is the list of Port Loko District representatives in the Parliament:- Lamin Bai Sama, Paramount ChiefParamount chiefA paramount chief is the highest-level traditional chief or political leader in a regional or local polity or country typically administered politically with a chief-based system. This definition is used occasionally in anthropological and archaeological theory to refer to the rulers of multiple...
of Port Loko District - Alhaji Alpha Kanu (APC)
- Ibrahim Kemoh Sesay (APC)
- A.B wurrie (SLPP)
- Alfrd Smart Kumbu (APC)
- Alhaji Buya Kamara (APC)
Small towns
- Bamundu
- GbintiGbintiGbinti is a town in Dibia chiefdom , Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The town lies about 52 miles from Freetown. The inhabitant of the town are almost entirely from the Temne ethnic group. The Temne language is widely spoken in the town...
- KassehKassehKasseh is a historic rural town in Bureh Kasseh Maconteh Chiefdom, Port Loko District located in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone with a population of 3,386 . The population of Kasseh is almost entirely inhabited by the Temne people. The Temne language is widely spoken throughout the town...
, the birthplace of Bai BurehBai BurehBai Bureh was a Sierra Leonean ruler and military strategist who led the Temne and Loko uprising against British rule in 1898 in Northern Sierra Leone.-Early life:...
, Sierra Leone's greatest war hero - Konaridie
- Mahera
- MarampaMarampaMarampa in Sierra Leone is the site of an iron ore mine. Marampa is also a city with 20,000 inhabitants.- Railway :The mine is connected to the port at Port Pepel by an 84 km long gauge railway. This railway is experiencing problems with the theft of its track, and other obstructions....
- Masiyila
- Rokupr
- Semanu
- Sawkta
- Taiama
Notable people from Port Loko District
- Bai BurehBai BurehBai Bureh was a Sierra Leonean ruler and military strategist who led the Temne and Loko uprising against British rule in 1898 in Northern Sierra Leone.-Early life:...
, Sierra Leonean ruler who led the Temne uprising against the British in The 1898 Rebellion - Sorie Ibrahim KoromaSorie Ibrahim KoromaSorie Ibrahim Koroma commonly known as S.I. Koroma is a former Sierra Leonean politician, labor activist and one of the founding members of the All People's Congress , one of Sierra Leone's most dominant political party...
, Vice President of Sierra Leone from 1971 to 1985 - Abass BunduAbass BunduDr. Abass Chernor Bundu is a former politician and diplomat from Sierra Leone. Bundu was bon in the town of Gbinti, Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone to Fula and Temne parentage...
, Sierra Leonean Politician - Ibrahim Kemoh SesayKemoh SesayIbrahim Kemoh Sesay is a Sierra Leonean politician from the ruling All People's Congress political party. He is Sierra Leone's former Minister of Transportation and Aviation and member of the Pan-African Parliament.....
, Former Sierra Leone's minister of Transportation and Aviation - Amadu WurieAmadu WurieAmadu Wurie was an early Sierra Leonean educationist and politician.-Biography:Wurie was born in Gbinti, Port Loko District, in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone, the son of a Fula paramount chief...
, Sierra Leonean Educationist and Politician
Sources
- "Members of Parliament".State House Online.Office of the Sierra Leone President.Web
- http://www.daco-sl.org/encyclopedia/7_lib/7_2j_pl.htm