# Koidu > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Koidu > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Koidu.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koidu > Source revision: 1346400997 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{about|the city in Sierra Leone}} {{Infobox settlement |official_name = Koidu Town |other_name = |native_name = |nickname = |settlement_type = |motto = |image_skyline =KoiduStreet.jpg |imagesize = |image_caption = Main street in Koidu in the 1980s |image_flag = |flag_size = |image_seal = |seal_size = |image_shield = |shield_size = |image_blank_emblem = |blank_emblem_type = |blank_emblem_size = |image_map = |mapsize = |map_caption = |image_map1 = |mapsize1 = |map_caption1 = |image_dot_map = |dot_mapsize = |dot_map_caption = |dot_x = |dot_y = |pushpin_map = Sierra Leone |pushpin_mapsize =300 |pushpin_map_caption = |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = {{flag|Sierra Leone}} |subdivision_type1 = [Province](/source/Provinces_of_Sierra_Leone) |subdivision_name1 = [Eastern Province](/source/Eastern_Province%2C_Sierra_Leone) |subdivision_type2 = [District](/source/Districts_of_Sierra_Leone) |subdivision_name2 = [Kono District](/source/Kono_District) |subdivision_type3 = |subdivision_name3 = |subdivision_type4 = |subdivision_name4 = |government_footnotes = |government_type =[City Council](/source/City_Council) |leader_title = [Mayor](/source/Mayor) |leader_name = Komba Sam(C4C) |leader_title1 = |leader_name1 = |leader_title2 = Governing Body |leader_name2 = Koidu–New Sembehun City Council |leader_title3 = |leader_name3 = |leader_title4 = |leader_name4 = |established_title = |established_date = |established_title2 = |established_date2 = |established_title3 = |established_date3 = |area_magnitude = |unit_pref =Imperial |area_footnotes = |area_total_km2 = |area_land_km2 = |area_water_km2 = |area_total_sq_mi = |area_land_sq_mi = |area_water_sq_mi = |area_water_percent = |area_urban_km2 = |area_urban_sq_mi = |area_metro_km2 = |area_metro_sq_mi = |area_blank1_title = |area_blank1_km2 = |area_blank1_sq_mi = |population_as_of =2015 census |population_footnotes = |population_note = |population_total =128,030 |population_density_km2 = |population_density_sq_mi = |population_metro = |population_density_metro_km2 = |population_density_metro_sq_mi = |population_urban = |population_density_urban_km2 = |population_density_urban_sq_mi = |population_blank1_title =Ethnicities |population_blank1 = |population_blank2_title =Religions |population_blank2 = |population_density_blank1_km2 = |population_density_blank1_sq_mi = |timezone = GMT |utc_offset = ±0 |timezone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = |coordinates = {{coord|8.6439|-10.9717|region:SL|format=dms|display=inline,title}} |elevation_footnotes = |elevation_m = |elevation_ft = |postal_code_type = |postal_code = |area_code = |blank_name = |blank_info = |blank1_name = |blank1_info = |website = |footnotes = }} '''Koidu Town''' (or '''Sefadu'''; officially known as '''Koidu City''') is the capital and largest city of the [Kono District](/source/Kono_District) in the [Eastern Province](/source/Eastern_Province%2C_Sierra_Leone) of [Sierra Leone](/source/Sierra_Leone). Its population is 128,030 based on the 2015 census.{{Cite web |last1=Lutakome Mukulu |first1=Andrew |last2=Kondeh |first2=Mahawa |date=October 2017 |title=Sierra Leone 2015 Population and Housing Census National Analytical Report |url=https://www.statistics.sl/images/StatisticsSL/Documents/Census/2015/2015_census_national_analytical_report.pdf |access-date=6 May 2024 |website=Statistics Sierra Leone }} It is the fifth largest city in Sierra Leone by population, after [Freetown](/source/Freetown), [Kenema](/source/Kenema), [Bo](/source/Bo%2C_Sierra_Leone) and [Makeni](/source/Makeni). It lies approximately 280 miles east of Freetown, and about 60 miles north of Kenema.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}} Koidu Town is a major [urban](/source/Urban_area), [business](/source/business), [commercial](/source/commerce) and [diamond](/source/diamond) [trade](/source/trade) center. Two of the world's ten largest and most famous rough diamonds were found in the Woyie River that flows through Koidu Town.{{cite web|url=http://www.koiduholdings.com/diamonds-of-sierra-leone.php|title=Diamonds of Sierra Leone|author=Koidu Holdings|access-date=2016-08-22|archive-date=2017-03-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302031447/http://www.koiduholdings.com/diamonds-of-sierra-leone.php|url-status=dead}} The mayor of Koidu City and members of the Koidu-New Sembehun city council are directly elected every four years. The current mayor of Koidu Town is Komba Sam of the [Sierra Leone People's Party](/source/Sierra_Leone_People's_Party) political party.{{Cite web|url=https://electiondata.io/elected-officials/mayor|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801034431/https://electiondata.io/elected-officials/mayor |date=2018-08-01 |archive-date=2018-08-01 |title=Elected Mayors | Sierra Leone 2018 Election | Sierra Leone Open Elections Data Platform }} Koidu is not a stronghold of any political party; the city is home to large support of both the [Sierra Leone People's Party](/source/Sierra_Leone_People's_Party) and the [All People's Congress](/source/All_People's_Congress). Koidu is one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse cities in Sierra Leone. The city is inhabited by many ethnic groups, with no ethnic group forming a majority. The [Krio language](/source/Krio_language) is by far the most widely spoken language in Koidu Town and is the primary language of communication in the city.{{Not verified in body|date=May 2024}} Sierra Leone's vice president [Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh](/source/Mohamed_Juldeh_Jalloh), Sierra Leone's [First Lady](/source/First_Lady) [Fatima Bio](/source/Fatima_Maada_Bio) and Sierra Leone's former vice president [Samuel Sam-Sumana](/source/Samuel_Sam-Sumana) were born and raised in the city. == History == {{See also|Conflict mineral|Sierra Leone Civil War}} In 1995 the government of Sierra Leone signed an agreement with the South African company Branch Energy Limited, a subsidiary of [Executive Outcomes](/source/Executive_Outcomes) (EO), a business that supplied mercenaries to governments across Africa. The agreement, negotiated under the [Mines and Minerals Act](/source/Mines_and_Minerals_Act_(Sierra_Leone)) of 1994, was scheduled to last 25 years. Under it Sierra Leone's military government gave the concession to operate the Koidu diamond mine to the firm in payment for helping to suppress the [Revolutionary United Front](/source/Revolutionary_United_Front) rebels in the area during the country's civil war.{{cite news|url=http://www.timeslive.co.za/africa/2016/04/04/Panama-Papers-Flaws-in-Sierra-Leone’s-diamond-trade |title=Panama Papers: Flaws in Sierra Leone's diamond trade |publisher=Times Media Group|work=Times Live|author1=Khadija Sharife|author2=Silas Gbandia|date=April 4, 2016}} They had been using the diamonds to buy weapons and ammunition from Guinea, Liberia, and the Sierra Leone army.{{cite book|last=Abdullah|first=Ibrahim|year=2004|title=Between Democracy and Terror: The Sierra Leone Civil War|location=Dakar|publisher=Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa}} The government of Sierra Leone retained a 60% ownership stake in the Koidu mine.{{cite web|url=http://strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/parameters/Articles/99summer/adams.htm|title=The New Mercenaries and the Privatization of Conflict|work=Parameters Summer 1999|pages=103–16|author=Thomas K. Adams|year=1999|access-date=2016-08-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107084746/http://strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/parameters/Articles/99summer/adams.htm|archive-date=2016-01-07|url-status=dead}} The [Panama Papers](/source/Panama_Papers), leaked from the Panamanian law firm [Mossack Fonseca](/source/Mossack_Fonseca), showed that the family foundation of Beny Steinmetz family paid $1.2 million for half of the mining license issued by the national government for the Koidu mine. In 2003 the government transferred rights, duties, and responsibilities from Branch Energy to [Koidu Holdings](/source/Koidu_Holdings), a company owned by Octea of the BSGR Resources group, for $28 million.{{cite news|url=http://www.jckonline.com/2016/01/21/beny-steinmetz-invest-sierra-leone-diamond-mine|title=Beny Steinmetz to invest in Sierra Leone diamond mine|publisher=JCK Magazine|date=April 8, 2004}} In 2015, the city filed suit against Octea, claiming that the company owed $684,000 in unpaid property taxes. In April 2016, Justice Bintu Alhadi of the High Court of Sierra Leone ruled that Octea and Koidu Limited were separate entities and that Octea technically did not own the mine, so had no duty to pay its property tax. In 2012, [Saa Emerson Lamina](/source/Saa_Emerson_Lamina) of the ruling [All People's Congress](/source/All_People's_Congress) party was elected mayor of Koidu.{{Cite news |last=Lamin |first=Tamba |date=11 August 2011 |title=Koidu Town Mayor dragged to court |url=http://www.sierraexpressmedia.com/archives/?p=27669 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110921064818/http://www.sierraexpressmedia.com/archives/27669 |archive-date=21 September 2011 |access-date=6 May 2024 |work=Sierra Express Media}} He was suspended by the national government in 2016, following the release of the Panama Papers and the publication of an article quoting him complaining about the diamond mine's operation and failure to pay taxes. The City Council then elected Aiah Bartholomew Baima Komba acting mayor of Koidu.{{cite news|publisher=Awareness Times|location=Freetown|title=New Acting Mayor for Koidu City Council|author=Abdul Malik Bangura|date=March 3, 2016|url=http://news.sl/drwebsite/publish/printer_200528302.shtml}} Lamina said the suspension was intended to silence him and that he continued to act as mayor because the national government has no authority to remove him from office A 32-page Ministry of Finance and Economic Development audit blamed the finance and procurement officers of the council for the relatively minor issues.{{cite web|url=http://politicosl.com/2016/07/koidu-ag-mayor-clashes-with-csos/|title=Koidu Ag. Mayor clashes with CSOs|author=Septimus Senessie|location=Kono|publisher=Politico SL News|access-date=2016-07-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716125624/http://politicosl.com/2016/07/koidu-ag-mayor-clashes-with-csos/|archive-date=2016-07-16|url-status=dead}} === 2007 and 2012 protests === The 2007 Koidutown-Sefadu protest was an action by 400 protesters in Koidu-Sefadu which was aimed at the local diamond mine which the residents claimed had lowered local living conditions and environmental conditions in the area. The result of the protest was a clampdown by Sierra Leonean police, who shot two protesters.[http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN451149.html News | Africa - Reuters.com] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20070621081243/http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN451149.html |date=2007-06-21 }}{{cite web|url=https://panamapapers.investigativecenters.org/sierra-leone-2/ |title=Community fights back against dubious diamond mine|author1=Silas Gbandia|author2=Cooper Inveen|author3=Will Fitzgibbon|author4=Khadija Sharife|author5=Michael Hudson|publisher=ANCIR|work=#PanamaPapers: How The Elite Hide Their Wealth |access-date=August 22, 2016}} Two more protesters were shot in 2012, one of them a 12-year-old boy. == Government == Koidu Town is one of Sierra Leone's six [municipalities](/source/municipalities) and is governed by a [directly elected](/source/directly_elected) [city council](/source/city_council), headed by a [mayor](/source/mayor), in whom [executive authority](/source/executive_authority) is vested. The mayor is responsible for the general management of the city. The mayor is elected directly by the residents every four years in a [municipal elections](/source/municipal_elections). Komba Sam was elected mayor of Koidu in the 2018 Koidu Mayoral election, defeating the [Sierra Leone People's Party](/source/Sierra_Leone_People's_Party) with 49.5% of the votes. == Ethnicity == Koidu town is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in Sierra Leone. Even though the city is home of the [Kono people](/source/Kono_people), members of all the country's other ethnic groups and most of the foreign diamond workers in the Kono District reside in the city.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}} == Health == thumb|right|Koidu Government Hospital thumb|right|Infant care at the hospital American aid workers helped rebuild the Koidu Government Hospital, which has improved the previously alarming health situation in the town. Various other aid organizations, including the UN Refugee Agency, [UNHCR](/source/UNHCR) and its partners, have helped drill wells, re-build clinics and schools and regenerate livelihoods in the area, as part of a programme to support the reintegration of Sierra Leoneans who returned after living for several years as refugees in neighbouring countries.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}} In 2026, the [Paul E. Farmer Maternal Center of Excellence](/source/Paul_E._Farmer_Maternal_Center_of_Excellence) opened in the Koidu Government Hospital campus. The [maternity hospital](/source/maternity_hospital) contains the only [neonatal intensive care unit](/source/neonatal_intensive_care_unit) in Sierra Leone.{{Cite news |last=Brennan |first=Ryan |date=17 February 2026 |title=Hank and John Green Help Open the First NICU in Sierra Leone |url=https://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/article314735122.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260331150521/https://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/article314735122.html |archive-date=31 March 2026 |access-date=31 March 2026 |work=[Miami Herald](/source/Miami_Herald)}} == Culture == === Media === The local radio station in Koidu Town is the Eastern Radio 96.5. The [Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation](/source/Sierra_Leone_Broadcasting_Corporation) (SLBC) TV, and radio are on the air in the city. The [BBC World Service](/source/BBC_World_Service), [CNN International](/source/CNN_International), and several other international stations are also on the air in the city on [satellite](/source/satellite).{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}} === Sport === Like the rest of Sierra Leone, [football](/source/association_football) is the most popular sport in Koidu Town. A professional [football club](/source/football_club), [Diamond Stars F.C.](/source/Diamond_Stars_F.C.), is based in Koidu Town and represents the Kono District in the [Sierra Leone National Premier League](/source/Sierra_Leone_National_Premier_League). The Diamond Stars Football Club is overwhelmingly popular in Kono District and is one of the biggest football clubs in Sierra Leone. The Diamond Stars were the champions of the 2012 Sierra Leone National Premier League season, and the first club outside [Freetown](/source/Freetown) to ever won the Premier League.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/18954997 Sierra Leone: Diamond Stars Win Salone Premier League Title] == Education == === Secondary Schools in Koidu Town === *[Koidu Secondary School](/source/Koidu_Secondary_School) - Founded: 1938 *[Kono Model Academy](/source/Kono_Model_Academy) - Founded: 1950 *[Koidu Girls Secondary School](/source/Koidu_Girls_Secondary_School) - Founded: 1952 *Ansarul Islamic Boys Secondary School - Founded: 1974 *Ansarul Islamic Girls Secondary School - Founded: 1974 *Islamic Secondary School Koidu - Founded: 1979 *Ak-hom Secondary School - Founded: 2001 == Notable people from Koidu town == *[Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh](/source/Mohamed_Juldeh_Jalloh), current Vice President of Sierra Leone *[Fatima Bio](/source/Fatima_Bio), First Lady of Sierra Leone * [Saa Emerson Lamina](/source/Saa_Emerson_Lamina), former [Mayor](/source/Mayor) of Koidu City * [Samuel Sam-Sumana](/source/Samuel_Sam-Sumana), Former Vice President of Sierra Leone * [Kaifala Marah](/source/Kaifala_Marah), former [Finance Minister](/source/Finance_Minister) of Sierra Leone * [Sam Bockarie](/source/Sam_Bockarie), former RUF rebel leader * [Mary Musa](/source/Mary_Musa), First Female Mayor of Koidu City * [Francis Koroma](/source/Francis_Koroma), [Footballer](/source/Association_football) * [K-Man](/source/K-Man), Sierra Leonean Musician * [Karamoh Kabba](/source/Karamoh_Kabba), [Politician](/source/Politician) * [Komba Yomba](/source/Komba_Yomba), Footballer * [Sidique Mansaray](/source/Sidique_Mansaray), Footballer * [Alimamy Jalloh](/source/Alimamy_Jalloh), Footballer * [Ibrahim Bah](/source/Ibrahim_Bah), Footballer * [Mohamed Saccoh](/source/Mohamed_Saccoh), Rapper * [Yayah Jalloh](/source/Yayah_Jalloh), footballer == References == {{Commons category|Koidu}} {{reflist}} Category:Koidu Category:Populated places in Sierra Leone Category:Kono District --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Koidu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koidu) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koidu?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.