- published: 24 May 2013
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Kailahun District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is the town of Kailahun. The other major towns in the district include Segbwema, Koindu, Pendembu and Daru. As of 2010, the district has a population of 409,520. Kailahun District is subdivided into fourteen chiefdoms.
The District of Kailahun borders Liberia to the east, Guinea and the Kono District to the north, and Kenema District to the west. The border of the district with Guinea is formed by a section of the Moa River. The total area of the district is 4,859 km2 (1,876 sq mi). The population of Kailahun District is largely from the Mende ethnic group. The district is predominantly muslim.
Kailahun District is the birthplace of former Sierra Leone's president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, who was born in the town of Pendembu.
Kailahun District is governed with a district council form of government, which is headed by a District Council Chairman, who is chief executive officer in the District and is responsible for the general management of the district and for seeing that all local laws are enforced. The District Council Chairman is elected directly by the residents of the district of Kailahun every four years. The current chairman of Kailahun district council is Alex Bhonapha of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), who easily won the 2012 District Chairperson election with 75.73%, defeating his main opponent Augustine Kortu of the All People's Congress (APC) who took 20.31%.
Kailahun is the capital of Kailahun District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Kailahun is a major business and commercial center of Kailahun District. The population was 13,108 in the 2004 census, a 2006 estimate of 18,411 and a current estimate of about 30,411. Kailahun lies in the far east of Sierra Leone, approximately 320 miles north east of Freetown; and about 75 miles east of Kenema..
Kailahun is a trade center, and is one of the major towns in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. The population of Kailahun is largely from the Mende ethnic group.
The town is home to Kailahun district council and the District Council Hall. As of 2008 Maada Alpha Ndoleh is the town chief of Kailahun. Kailahun, along with the entire Kailahun 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 town and for seeing that all local and national laws are enforced. The District Council Chairman is elected directly by the residents of the district of Kailahun. The current chairman of Kailahun district council is Tom Nyuma of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). Nyuma won the July 2008 Sierra Leone local council elections in a landslide with 75% of the vote. The candidate of the People's Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC) came in distance second, followed by the candidate of the All People's Congress (APC). Nyuma replaced fellow SLPP member Augustine Kortu who was the District Council Chairman until July 2008. Kortu is from the minority Kissi ethnic group.