SierraLeone, (/siˌɛrə liˈoʊn(i)/ ^ⓘ, also UK: /siˌɛərə -/, US: /ˌsɪərə -/;^[8][9] Krio: Salone^[10]) officially the Republic ofSierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It shares its southeastern borderwith Liberia and is bordered by Guinea to the north. With a land areaof 71,740 km² (27,699 sq mi),^[11] Sierra Leone has a tropical climate and with a variety ofenvironments ranging from savannas to rainforests. According to the 2015 census,Sierra Leone has a population of 7,092,113,^[1] with Freetown serving as both the capital andlargest city. The country is divided into five administrative regions, whichare further subdivided into 16 districts.^[12][13]

Sierra Leoneis governed as a presidentialrepublic, witha unicameralparliament anda directlyelected president. Sierra Leone is a secular state with the constitution providing for the separation of state and religion and freedomof conscience,encompassing freedomof thought and religion.^[14] Muslims constitute three-quarters ofthe population with a significant Christian minority. Notably, religioustolerance is very high, reflecting a social norm and part of the nation'scultural identity.^[15]

SierraLeone's current territorial configuration was established by the British Empire through two historical phases:initially, the coastal Sierra Leone Colony was founded in 1808 to resettle returning Africansfollowing the abolition of the slave trade; subsequently, the inland Protectorate was created in 1896in the wake of the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885. This led to the formal recognitionof the territory as the Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate, or British Sierra Leone.^[16][17] Independence from the United Kingdom was attained in 1961, withSierra Leone transitioning into a Commonwealthrealm asthe Dominion of Sierra Leone under the leadership of Prime Minister Sir Milton Margai of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP).^[18]

Under primeminister SiakaStevens ofthe AllPeople's Congress (APC),the country adopted a new constitution in 1971, transforming Sierra Leone intoa presidential republic with Stevens as the inaugural president. Afterdeclaring the APC the sole legal party in 1978, Stevens was succeededby JosephSaidu Momoh in1985. Momoh's enactment of a new constitution in 1991 reintroduced a multi-partysystem. That year, aprotracted civilwar initiated,featuring the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group, leading to significant turmoil. Theconflict, characterized by multiple coups d'état, persisted for 11 years.Intervention by ECOMOG forces and later the UnitedKingdom resulted in the defeat of the RUF in 2002, ushering in a period ofrelative stability and recovery efforts. The remaining two main politicalparties are the APC and the SLPP.

Sierra Leoneis a culturally diverse country, home to approximately 18 ethnic groups, with the Temne and Mende peoples being predominant. The Creole people, descendants of freedAfrican-American, Afro-Caribbean slaves and liberated Africans, constituteabout 1.2% of the population. English is the official language, while Krio is the lingua franca, spoken by 97% of the population.The country is rich with natural resources, notably diamonds, gold, bauxite and aluminium. As of the mostrecent survey in 2019, 59.2% of the population is affected by multidimensional poverty and an additional 21.3% vulnerable to it.^[19] Sierra Leone maintainsmembership in several international organizations, including the UnitedNations, African Union, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the Commonwealthof Nations, among others.

Etymology

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Sierra Leonederives its name from the Lion Mountains near its capital, Freetown.Originally named Serra Leoa (Portuguese for 'lioness mountains') byPortuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra in 1462, the modern name isderived from the Venetian spelling, which was introducedby Venetian explorer Alvise Cadamosto and subsequently adopted byother European mapmakers.^[20]

History

[edit]

Mainarticle: History of Sierra Leone

Earlyhistory

[edit]

SierraLeone's history is marked by continuous human habitation for at least 2,500years,^[22] influenced by migrations fromacross Africa.^[23] The adoption of iron technologyby the 9th century and establishment of agriculture by 1000 AD along the coast.^[24] Climate shifts over centuriesaltered the ecological zones, influencing migration and conquest dynamics.^[25]

The region'sdense tropicalrainforest andswamps, coupled with the presence of the tsetse fly which carried a disease fatalto horses and the zebu cattle used by the Mandépeople, provided natural defenses against invasions by the Mandinka Empire and other African empires,^[25][26] and limited influence bythe Mali Empire, preserving its indigenous culturesfrom external dominions. The introduction of Islam by Susu traders, merchants and migrantsin the 18th century further enriched the culture, eventually establishing astrong foothold in the north. The conquest by Samory Touré in the northeast solidifiedIslam among the Yalunka, Kuranko and Limba people.^[27]

Europeantrading

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The 15thcentury marked the beginning of European interaction with Sierra Leone,highlighted by Portugueseexplorer Pedro de Sintra mapping the region in 1462 andnaming it after the lioness mountains.^[28][29] This naming has been subject tohistorical reinterpretation, suggesting earlier European knowledge of theregion. Following Sintra, European traders established fortified posts,engaging primarily in the slavetrade, which shapedthe socio-economic landscape significantly.^[30]

Traders fromEurope, such as the Dutch Republic, England and France started to arrive in SierraLeone and establish trading stations. These stations quickly began to primarilydeal in slaves, who were brought to the coast by indigenous traders frominterior areas, undergoing conflicts over territory. The Europeans madepayments, called Cole, for rent, tribute, and trading rights, tothe king of an area. Local Afro-European merchants often acted as middlemen,the Europeans advancing them goods to trade to indigenous merchants, most oftenfor slaves and ivory.^[31][32]

EarlyPortuguese interactions

[edit]

Portuguesetraders were particularly drawn to the local craftsmanship in ivory, leading to a notable trade in ivory artifacts such ashorns, saltcellars, and spoons. This exchangeunderscored the region's artistic talents during the period.

BlackPoor of London

[edit]

Mainarticle: Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor

In the late18th century, African Americans who had fought for the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War were resettled in Sierra Leone, forming a communitynamed BlackLoyalists. Thisresettlement scheme was partly motivated by social issues in London, with theSierra Leone Resettlement Scheme offering a new beginning for the Black Poor, though it was fraught withchallenges.

Resettlementof Black Loyalists

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In the late18th century, many African Americans claimed the protection of the BritishCrown. There were thousands of these Black Loyalists, people of Africanancestry who joined the British military forces during the AmericanRevolutionary War.^[33] Many had been slaves who hadescaped to join the British, lured by promises of freedom (emancipation). Official documentation known asthe Bookof Negroes liststhousands of freed slaves whom the British evacuated from the nascent UnitedStates and resettled in colonies elsewhere in BritishNorth America.

Pro-slaveryadvocates accused the Black Poor of being responsible for a large proportion ofcrime in 18th century London. While the broader community included some women,the Black Poor seems to have exclusively consisted of men, some of whomdeveloped relationships with local women and often married them. Slaveowner Edward Long criticized marriage between black men and white women.^[34] However, on the voyagebetween Plymouth,England andSierra Leone, 70 European girlfriends and wives accompanied the Black Poor settlers.^[35]

Many inLondon thought moving them to Sierra Leone would lift them out of poverty.^[36] The Sierra Leone ResettlementScheme was proposed by entomologist Henry Smeathman and drew interest fromhumanitarians like Granville Sharp, who saw it as a means of showingthe pro-slavery lobby that black people could contribute towards the running ofthe new colony. Government officials soon became involved in the scheme aswell, although their interest was spurred by the possibility of resettling alarge group of poor citizens elsewhere.^[37] William Pitt the Younger, prime minister and leader of the Tory party, had an activeinterest in the Scheme because he saw it as a means to repatriate the BlackPoor to Africa, since "it was necessary they should be sent somewhere, andbe no longer suffered to infest the streets of London".^[34]

Establishmentof the Province of Freedom

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In January1787, the Atlantic and the Belisarius setsail for Sierra Leone, but bad weather forced them to divert to Plymouth,during which time about 50 passengers died. Another 24 were discharged, and 23ran away. Eventually, with more recruitment, 411 passengers sailed to SierraLeone in April 1787. On the voyage between Plymouth and Sierra Leone, 96passengers died.^{[34][38][39][40]}

In 1787 theBritish Crown founded a settlement in Sierra Leone in what was called the"Provinceof Freedom".About 400 black and 60 white colonists reached Sierra Leone on 15 May 1787.After they established Granville Town, most of the first group ofcolonists died, owing to disease and warfare with the indigenous Africanpeoples (Temne), who resisted their encroachment.When the ships left them in September, they had been reduced to "276persons, namely 212 black men, 30 black women, 5 white men and 29 whitewomen".^[34]

The settlersthat remained forcibly captured land from a local African chieftain, but heretaliated, attacking the settlement, which was reduced to a mere 64 settlerscomprising 39 black men, 19 black women, and six white women. Black settlerswere captured by unscrupulous traders and sold as slaves, and the remainingcolonists were forced to arm themselves for their own protection.^[34] The 64 remaining colonistsestablished a second Granville Town.^[41][42]

NovaScotians

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Mainarticle: Nova Scotian Settlers

Followingthe American Revolution, Black Loyalists from Nova Scotia, Canada, were relocated to SierraLeone, founding Freetown and contributing significantly to the Krio people and Krio language that would come to define theregion.

Followingthe AmericanRevolution, morethan 3,000 Black Loyalists had also been settled in Nova Scotia, where they were finally grantedland. They founded Birchtown, but faced harsh winters andracial discrimination from nearby Shelburne. Thomas Peters pressedBritish authorities for relief and more aid; together with Britishabolitionist John Clarkson,the SierraLeone Company wasestablished to relocate Black Loyalists who wanted to take their chances inWest Africa. In 1792 nearly 1,200 persons from Nova Scotia crossed the Atlanticto build the second (and only permanent) Colony of Sierra Leone and thesettlement of Freetown on 11 March 1792. In SierraLeone they were called the NovaScotian Settlers,the Nova Scotians, or the Settlers. Clarkson initiallybanned the survivors of Granville Town from joining the new settlement, blamingthem for the demise of Granville Town.^[34] The Settlers built Freetown inthe styles they knew from their lives in the American South; they also continued Americanfashion and American manners. In addition, many continued to practise Methodism in Freetown.

In the1790s, the Settlers, including adult women, voted for the first time inelections.^[43] In 1792, in a move thatforeshadowed the women's suffrage movements in Britain, the heads of allhouseholds, of which a third were women, were given the right to vote.^[44] Black settlers in Sierra Leoneenjoyed much more autonomy than their white equivalent in European countries.Black migrants elected different levels of political representatives,'tithingmen', who represented each dozen settlers and 'hundreders' whorepresented larger amounts. This sort of representation was not available inNova Scotia.^[45] The initial process ofsociety-building in Freetown was a harsh struggle. The Crown did not supplyenough basic supplies and provisions and the Settlers were continuallythreatened by illegal slave trading and the risk of re-enslavement.^[46]

JamaicanMaroons and Liberated Africans

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Mainarticles: Jamaican Maroons in Sierra Leone and Sierra Leone Liberated Africans

The SierraLeone Company, controlled by London investors, refused to allow the settlers totake freehold of the land. In 1799 some ofthe settlers revolted. The Crown subdued the revolt by bringing in forces ofmore than 500 Jamaican Maroons, whom they transported from Cudjoe's Town (Trelawny Town) via Nova Scotia in 1800. Led by Colonel Montague James, the Maroons helped the colonialforces to put down the revolt, and in the process the Jamaican Maroons in Sierra Leone secured the best houses andfarms.^[47]

On 1 January1808, Thomas Ludlam, the Governor of the Sierra Leone Company and a leadingabolitionist, surrendered the company's charter. This ended its 16 yearsof running the Colony. The British Crown reorganised the Sierra Leone Companyas the AfricanInstitution; it wasdirected to improve the local economy. Its members represented both British whohoped to inspire local entrepreneurs and those with interest in the Macauley& Babington Company, which held the (British) monopoly on Sierra Leonetrade.^[48]

At about thesame time (following the Slave Trade Act 1807 which abolished the slave trade),Royal Navy crews delivered thousands of formerly enslaved Africans to Freetown,after liberating them from illegal slave ships. These Liberated Africans or recaptives weresold for $20 a head as apprentices to the white settlers, Nova ScotianSettlers, and the Jamaican Maroons. Many Liberated Africans were treated poorlyand even abused because some of the original settlers considered them theirproperty. Cut off from their various homelands and traditions, the LiberatedAfricans were forced to assimilate to the Western styles of Settlers andMaroons. For example, some of the Liberated Africans were forced to changetheir name to a more Western sounding one.^[49] Though some people happilyembraced these changes because they considered it as being part of thecommunity, some were not happy with these changes and wanted to keep their ownidentity. Many Liberated Africans were so unhappy that they risked the possibilityof being sold back into slavery by leaving Sierra Leone and going back to theiroriginal villages.^[49] The Liberated Africanseventually modified their customs to adopt those of the Nova Scotians, Maroonsand Europeans, yet kept some of their ethnic traditions.^[50] As the Liberated Africansbecame successful traders^[49] and spread Christianitythroughout West Africa, they intermarried with the Nova Scotians and Maroons,and the two groups eventually became a fusion of African and Western societies.^{[50]: 3–4, 223–255}

These Liberated Africans were from many areas of Africa, but principally thewest coast. Between the 18th and 19th century, freed African Americans,some AmericoLiberian "refugees",and particularly Afro-Caribbeans, mainly Jamaican Maroons, alsoimmigrated and settled in Freetown. Together these peoples formed the Creole/Krioethnicity andan English-based creole language (Krio), which is the lingua franca and de facto national language used among many of theethnicities in the country.^{[51][52][53][54]}

Colonialera (1800–1961)

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Mainarticle: Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate

The colonialera saw Sierra Leone evolving under British rule, with a unique settlementpattern composed of displaced Africans following the abolition of the slave trade. Sierra Leone developed as an educational center in WestAfrica, with the establishment of Fourah Bay College in 1827, attractingEnglish-speaking Africans from across the region.

Thesettlement of Sierra Leone in the 1800s was unique in that the population wascomposed of displaced Africans, brought to the colony after the Britishabolition of the slave trade in 1807. Upon arrival in Sierra Leone, each recaptive wasgiven a registration number, and information on their physical qualities wouldbe entered into the Register of Liberated Africans. Often documentation wouldbe subjective and result in inaccurate entries, making them difficult to track.Differences between the Register of Liberated Africans of 1808 and the List ofCaptured Negroes of 1812 (which emulated the 1808 document) revealeddisparities in the entries, specifically in the names; many recaptives decidedto change their given names to anglicised versionswhich contributed to the difficulty in tracking them after they arrived.^[55]

In the early19th century, Freetown served as the residence of the British colonial governorof the region, who also administered the Gold Coast (now Ghana) and the Gambia settlements. Sierra Leonedeveloped as the educational centre of BritishWest Africa.^[56] The British established Fourah Bay College in 1827, which became amagnet for English-speaking Africans on the West Coast. For more than acentury, it was the only European-style university in west Sub-SaharanAfrica. SamuelAjayi Crowther wasthe first student to be enrolled.^[57] Fourah Bay College soondrew Creoles/Krio people and other Africans seeking higher education in British West Africa.These included Nigerians, Ghanaians, Ivorians and others, especially in the fieldsof theology and education. Freetown wasknown as the "Athens of Africa" due to thenumber of excellent schools in Freetown and surrounding areas.^[58]

The Britishinteracted mostly with the Krio people in Freetown, who did most of the tradingwith the indigenous peoples of the interior. Educated Krio people held numerouspositions in the colonial government, giving them status and well-payingpositions. Following the Berlin Conference of 1884–85, the British decidedthey needed to establish more dominion over the inland areas, to satisfy whatwas described by the European powers as "effective occupation". In1896 it annexed these areas, declaring them the Sierra Leone Protectorate.^[59] With this change, the Britishbegan to expand their administration in the region, recruiting British citizensto posts and pushing Krio people out of positions in government and even thedesirable residential areas in Freetown.^[59]

During theBritish annexation in Sierra Leone, chiefs in the north and south of thecountry resisted the "hut tax" imposed by the colonialadministrators. In the north, there was a Limba chief named Almamy Sulukufighting to protect his territory, while using diplomacy to trick theprotectorate administrators, and sending fighters to assist Bai Bureh, a prominent Temne chief in Kasseh whowas fighting against the "hut tax". The war was later known asthe HutTax War of 1898.

Madam Yoko (c. 1849–1906) was a woman ofculture and ambition. She employed her capacity for friendly communications topersuade the British to give her control of the Kpaa Mende chiefdom. She useddiplomacy to communicate with local chiefs who did not trust her friendshipwith the British. Because Madam Yoko supported the British, some sub-chiefsrebelled, causing Yoko to take refuge in the police barracks. For her loyalty,she was awarded a silver medal by Queen Victoria. Until 1906, Madam Yoko ruled as aparamount chief in the new British Protectorate.

The Britishannexation of the Protectorate interfered with the sovereignty of indigenous chiefs.They designated chiefs as units of local government, rather than dealing withthem individually as had been the previous practice. They did not maintainrelationships even with longstanding allies, such as Bai Bureh, who was laterunfairly portrayed as a prime instigator of the Hut Tax War.^[60]

Colonel Frederic Cardew, military governor of theProtectorate, in 1898 established a new tax on dwellings and demanded that thechiefs use their people to maintain roads. The taxes were often higher than thevalue of the dwellings, and 24 chiefs signed a petition to Cardew, stating howdestructive this was; their people could not afford to take time off from theirsubsistence agriculture. They resisted payment of taxes, tensions over the newcolonial requirements and the administration's suspicions towards the chiefs,led to the Hut Tax. The British fired first; the northern front of mainly Temnepeople was led by Bai Bureh. The southern front, consisting mostly of Mende people, entered the conflict somewhatlater, for other reasons.

For severalmonths, Bureh's fighters had the advantage over the vastly more powerfulBritish forces but both sides suffered hundreds of fatalities.^[61] Bureh surrendered on 11November 1898 to end the destruction of his people's territory and dwellings.Although the British government recommended leniency, Cardew insisted onsending the chief and two allies into exile in the Gold Coast; his government hanged 96 of thechief's warriors. Bureh was allowed to return in 1905, when he resumed hischieftaincy of Kasseh.^[60] The defeat of the Temne andMende in the Hut Tax war ended mass resistance to the Protectorate and colonialgovernment, but intermittent rioting and labour unrest continued throughout thecolonial period. Riots in 1955 and 1956 involved "tens of thousands"of Sierra Leoneans in the Protectorate.^[62]

Domestic slavery, which continued to be practised bylocal African elites, was abolished in 1928.^[63] A notable event in 1935 was thegranting of a monopoly on mineral mining to the Sierra Leone Selection Trust, run by De Beers. The monopoly was scheduled to last98 years. Mining of diamonds in the east and other minerals expanded, drawinglabourers there from other parts of the country.

In 1924, theUK government divided the administration of Sierra Leone into Colony andProtectorate, with different political systems for each. The Colony wasFreetown and its coastal area; the Protectorate was defined as the hinterland areas dominated by localchiefs. Antagonism between the two entities escalated to a heated debate in1947, when proposals were introduced to provide for a single political systemfor both the Colony and the Protectorate. Most proposals came from leaders ofthe Protectorate, whose population far outnumbered that in the colony. TheKrios, led by Isaac Wallace-Johnson, opposed the proposals, as they would have resulted in reducing thepolitical power of the Krios in the Colony.

In1951, LaminaSankoh (born:EtheldredJones) collaborated with educated protectorate leaders from different groups,including Sir Milton Margai, Siaka Stevens, Mohamed Sanusi Mustapha, John Karefa-Smart, Kande Bureh, Sir Albert Margai, Amadu Wurie and Sir Banja Tejan-Sie joined together with thepowerful paramountchiefs in theprotectorate to form the Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP as the party of the Protectorate. The SLPPleadership, led by Sir Milton Margai, negotiated with the British and theeducated Krio-dominated colony based in Freetown to achieve independence.^[64] Owing to the astute politics ofMilton Margai, the educated Protectorate elites were able to join forces withthe paramountchiefs in theface of Krio intransigence. Later, Margai used the same skills to win overopposition leaders and moderate Krio elements to achieve independence from theUK.^[65]

In November1951, Margai oversaw the drafting of a new constitution, which united theseparate Colonial and Protectorate legislatures and provided a frameworkfor decolonisation.^[66] In 1953, Sierra Leone wasgranted local ministerial powers and Margai was elected Chief Minister of Sierra Leone.^[66] The new constitution ensuredSierra Leone had a parliamentary system within the Commonwealthof Nations.^[66] In May 1957, Sierra Leone heldits first parliamentary election. The SLPP, which was then the most popularpolitical party in the colony of Sierra Leone as well as being supported by thepowerful paramount chiefs in the provinces, won the most seats in Parliamentand Margai was re-elected as Chief Minister by a landslide.

Independenceand post-independence era

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Sierra Leonewas granted independence by the United Kingdom in 1961, transitioning to astate with its own governance structures, though it faced significant politicalinstability post-independence, including the establishment of a one-party stateand periods of civil unrest.

1960Independence Conference

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On 20 April1960, Milton Margai led a 24-member Sierra Leonean delegation at constitutionalconferences that were held with the Government of QueenElizabeth II andBritish Colonial Secretary Iain Macleod in negotiations forindependence held in London.^[67][68]

On theconclusion of talks in London on 4 May 1960, the United Kingdom agreed to grantSierra Leone independence on 27 April 1961.^[67][68]

Independence(1961) and Margai Administration (1961–1964)

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On 27 April1961, Sir Milton Margai led Sierra Leone to independence from Great Britain andbecame the country's first Prime Minister. Sierra Leone had its own parliamentand its own prime minister, and had the ability to make 100% of its own laws,however, as with countries such as Canada and Australia, Sierra Leone remaineda "Dominion" and Queen Elizabeth was Queen of the independent Dominion of Sierra Leone.^[69][70] Thousands of Sierra Leoneanstook to the streets in celebration. The Dominion of Sierra Leone retained aparliamentary system of government and was a member of the Commonwealth ofNations. The leader of the main opposition AllPeople's Congress (APC),Siaka Stevens, along with Isaac Wallace-Johnson, another outspoken critic ofthe SLPP government, were arrested and placed under house arrest in Freetown, along with sixteenothers charged with disrupting the independence celebration.^[71]

In May 1962,Sierra Leone held its first general election as an independent state. The Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) won a plurality of seats in parliament, andMilton Margai was re-elected as prime minister.

Margai waspopular among Sierra Leoneans during his time in power, mostly known for hisself-effacement. He was neither corrupt nor did he make a lavish display of hispower or status.^[72] He based the government onthe rule of law and the separation of powers,with multiparty political institutions and fairly viable representativestructures. Margai used his conservative ideology to lead Sierra Leone withoutmuch strife. He appointed government officials to represent various ethnicgroups. Margai employed a brokerage style of politics, by sharing power amongpolitical parties and interest groups; especially the involvement of powerfulparamount chiefs in the provinces, most of whom were key allies of hisgovernment.^{[citation needed]}

After thedeath of Milton Margai and Albert Margai's tenure (1964–1967)

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Upon MiltonMargai's unexpected death in 1964, his younger half-brother, Sir Albert Margai, was appointed asPrime Minister by parliament. Sir Albert's leadership was briefly challenged byForeign Minister John Karefa-Smart, who questioned Sir Albert's succession tothe SLPP leadership position. Karefa-Smart led a prominent small minorityfaction within the SLPP party in opposition of Albert Margai as Prime Minister.However, Karefa-Smart failed to receive broad support within the SLPP in hisattempt to oust Albert Margai as both the leader of the SLPP and PrimeMinister. The large majority of SLPP members backed Albert Margai overKarefa-Smart. Soon after Albert Margai was sworn in as Prime Minister, he firedseveral senior government officials who had served in his elder brother SirMilton's government, viewing them as a threat to his administration, includingKarefa-Smart.

Sir Albertresorted to increasingly authoritarian actions in response to protestsand enacted several laws against the opposition All People's Congress, whileattempting to establish a one-party state.^[67][68] Sir Albert was opposed to thecolonial legacy of allowing executive powers to the Paramount Chiefs, many ofwhom had been allies of his late brother Sir Milton. Accordingly, they began toconsider Sir Albert a threat to the ruling houses across the country. Margaiappointed many non-Creoles to the country's civil service in Freetown, in an overalldiversification of the civil service in the capital, which had been dominatedby members of the Creole ethnic group. As a result, Albert Margai becameunpopular in the Creole community, many of whom had supported Sir Milton.Margai sought to make the army homogeneously Mende,^[73] his own ethnic group, and wasaccused of favouring members of the Mende for prominent positions.

In 1967,riots broke out in Freetown against Margai's policies. In response, he declareda stateof emergency acrossthe country. Sir Albert was accused of corruption and of a policy of affirmativeaction infavour of the Mende ethnic group.^[74] He also endeavoured to changeSierra Leone from a democracy to a one-party state.^[75]

1967General Election and military coups (1967–1968)

[edit]

The APC,with its leader Siaka Stevens, narrowly won a small majority ofseats in Parliament over the SLPP in a closely contested 1967 general election. Stevens was sworn in as Prime Minister on 21 March 1967.

Within hoursafter taking office, Stevens was ousted in a bloodless military coup ledby BrigadierGeneral David Lansana, the commander of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces. He was a close ally of Albert Margai, who hadappointed him to the position in 1964. Lansana placed Stevens under house arrest in Freetown and insisted thatthe determination of the Prime Minister should await the election of the tribalrepresentatives to the House. Steven was later freed and fled the country,going into exile in neighbouring Guinea. However, on 23 March 1967, a group ofmilitary officers in the Sierra Leone Army led by Brigadier General AndrewJuxon-Smith, stageda counter-coup against Commander Lansana. They seized control of thegovernment, arrested Lansana, and suspended the constitution. The group set upthe National Reformation Council (NRC), with Andrew Juxon-Smith as its chairman and Headof State of the country.^[76]

On 18 April1968 a group of low-ranking soldiers in the Sierra Leone Army who calledthemselves the Anti-Corruption Revolutionary Movement (ACRM), led by BrigadierGeneral JohnAmadu Bangura, overthrew the NRC junta. The ACRM junta arrested many seniorNRC members. They reinstated the constitution and returned power to Stevens,who at last assumed the office of Prime Minister.^[77]

Stevens hadBangura arrested in 1970 and charged with conspiracy and treason. He was foundguilty and sentenced to death, despite the fact that it was Bangura whoseactions led to Stevens' return to power.^[78] Brigadier Lansana and HingaNorman, the mainarmy officers involved in the first coup (1967), were unceremoniously dismissedfrom the armed forces and made to serve time in prison. Norman was a guardto Governor-general Sir Henry Lightfoot-Boston.^[18] Lansana was later tried andfound guilty of treason and sentenced to death in 1975.^[18]

One-partystate and dawn of the 'Republic' (1968–1991)

[edit]

Stevensassumed power as Prime Minister again in 1968, following a series of coups,with a great deal of hope and ambition.^[18] Much trust was placed upon himas he championed multi-party politics. Stevens had campaigned on a platform ofbringing the tribes together under socialist principles. During his firstdecade or so in power, Stevens renegotiated some of what he called"useless prefinanced schemes" contracted by his predecessors, bothAlbert Margai of the SLPP and Juxon-Smith of the NRC. Some of these policies bythe SLPP and the NRC were said to have left the country in an economicallydeprived state.^[18]

Stevensreorganised the country's oil refinery, the government-owned Cape Sierra Hotel,and a cement factory.^[79] He cancelled Juxon-Smith'sconstruction of a church and mosque on the grounds of Victoria Park (now knownas Freetown Amusement Park – since 2017). Stevens beganefforts that would later improve transportation and movements between theprovinces and the city of Freetown. Roads and hospitals were constructed in theprovinces, and Paramount Chiefs and provincial peoples became a prominent forcein Freetown.

Under thepressure of several coup attempts, real or perceived, Stevens' rule grew moreand more authoritarian, and his relationship with some ofhis ardent supporters deteriorated. He removed the SLPP party from competitivepolitics in general elections, some believed, through the use of violence andintimidation. To maintain the support of the military, Stevens retained thepopular John Amadu Bangura as head of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces.

After thereturn to civilian rule, by-elections were held (beginning in autumn1968) and an all-APC cabinet was appointed. Calm was not completely restored.In November 1968, unrest in the provinces led Stevens to declare a state ofemergency across the country. Many senior officers in the Sierra Leone Armywere greatly disappointed with Stevens' policies and his handling of the SierraLeone Military, but none could confront Stevens. Brigadier General Bangura, whohad reinstated Stevens as Prime Minister, was widely considered the only personwho could control Stevens. The army was devoted to Bangura, and this made himpotentially dangerous to Stevens. In January 1970, Bangura was arrested andcharged with conspiracy and plotting to commit a coupagainst the Stevens government. After a trial that lasted a few months, Bangurawas convicted and sentencedto death. On 29March 1970, Brigadier Bangura was executed by hanging in Freetown.

After theexecution of Bangura, a group of soldiers loyal to the executed general helda mutiny in Freetown and other parts ofthe country in opposition to Stevens' government. Dozens of soldiers werearrested and convicted by a court martial in Freetown for theirparticipation in the mutiny against the president. Among the soldiers arrestedwas a little-known army corporal, Foday Sankoh, a strong Bangura supporter, whowould later form the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Corporal Sankoh was convicted and jailed for seven years atthe Pademba Road Prison in Freetown.

In April1971, a new republican constitution was adopted under which Stevens becamepresident. In the 1972 by-elections, the opposition SLPP complained ofintimidation and procedural obstruction by the APC and militia. These problemsbecame so severe that the SLPP boycotted the 1973 general election; as a result, the APC won 84 of the 85 elected seats.^[80]

An allegedplot to overthrow President Stevens failed in 1974 and its leaders wereexecuted. In mid-1974, Guinean soldiers, as requested by Stevens, werestationed in the country to help maintain his hold on power, as Stevens was aclose ally of then-Guinean president AhmedSékou Touré. InMarch 1976, Stevens was elected without opposition for a second five-year termas president. On 19 July 1975, 14 senior army and government officials,including David Lansana, former cabinet minister Mohamed Sorie Forna (father ofwriter Aminatta Forna), Brigadier General Ibrahim Bash Taqiand Lieutenant Habib Lansana Kamara were executed after being convicted ofattempting a coup to topple president Stevens' government.

In 1977, anationwide student demonstration against the government disrupted SierraLeone's politics. The demonstration was quickly put down by the army andStevens' own personal Special Security Division (SSD), a heavily armedparamilitary force he had created to protect him and maintain his hold onpower.^[81] SSD officers were loyal toStevens and were deployed across the country to clamp down on any rebellion orprotest against Stevens' government. A general election was called later that year in which corruptionwas again endemic; the APC won 74 seats and the SLPP 15. In 1978, theAPC-dominant parliament approved a new constitution making the country aone-party state. The 1978 constitution made the APC the only legal politicalparty in Sierra Leone.^[82] This move led to another majordemonstration against the government in many parts of the country, but it wasalso put down by the army and Stevens' SSD force.

Stevens isgenerally criticised for dictatorial methods and government corruption, but hekept the country stable and from collapsing into civil war. He createdgovernment institutions still in use. Stevens reduced ethnic polarisation ingovernment by incorporating members of various ethnic groups into hisall-dominant APC government.

SiakaStevens retired from politics in November 1985 after being in power foreighteen years. The APC named a new presidential candidate to succeed Stevensat the party's last delegate conference, held in Freetown in November 1985. Thecandidate was MajorGeneral JosephSaidu Momoh, head ofthe Sierra Leone Armed Forces and Stevens' own choice to succeed him. As headof the armed forces, General Momoh had been loyal to Stevens, who had appointedhim to the position. Like Stevens, Momoh was also a member of theminority Limba ethnicgroup.

As the solecandidate, Momoh was elected president without opposition and sworn in asSierra Leone's second president on 28 November 1985 in Freetown. A one-partyparliamentary election between APC members was held in May 1986. PresidentMomoh appointed his former military colleague and key ally, Major GeneralMohamed Tarawalie to succeed him as the head of the Sierra Leone Military.General Tarawalie was also a strong loyalist and key Momoh supporter. PresidentMomoh named James Bambay Kamara as the head of the SierraLeone Police. BambayKamara was also a strong Momoh loyalist and supporter. Momoh broke from formerPresident Siaka Stevens by integrating the powerful SSD into the Sierra LeonePolice as a special paramilitaryforce. UnderPresident Stevens, the SSD had been a powerful personal force used to maintainhis hold on power, independent from the Sierra Leone Military and Sierra LeonePolice Force. The Sierra Leone Police under Bambay Kamara's leadership wasaccused of physical violence, arrest, and intimidation against critics ofPresident Momoh's government.

PresidentMomoh's strong links with the army and his verbal attacks on corruption earnedhim much-needed initial support among Sierra Leoneans. With the lack of newfaces in the new APC cabinet under President Momoh and the return of many ofthe old faces from Stevens' government, criticisms soon arose that Momoh wassimply perpetuating the rule of Stevens.

The next fewyears under the Momoh administration were characterised by corruption, whichMomoh defused by sacking several senior cabinet ministers. To formalise his waragainst corruption, President Momoh announced a "Code of Conduct for Political Leaders andPublic Servants". After an alleged attempt to overthrow President Momoh inMarch 1987, more than 60 senior government officials were arrested, includingVice-President FrancisMinah, who wasremoved from office, convicted of plotting the coup, and executed by hanging in 1989, along with fiveothers.

SierraLeone Civil War (1991–2002) and the NPRC regime (1992–1996)

[edit]

Furtherinformation: Sierra Leone Civil War

The brutalcivil war significantly impacted Sierra Leone, with internal and externalfactors contributing to widespread violence. International interventions,notably by the United Kingdom and the United Nations, were crucial in restoringpeace.

In October1990, owing to mounting pressure from both within and outside the country forpolitical and economic reforms, president Momoh set up a constitutional reviewcommission to assess the 1978 one-party constitution. Based on the commission'srecommendations, a constitution re-establishing a multi-party system wasapproved by the exclusive APC Parliament by a 60% majority vote, becomingeffective on 1 October 1991. There was great suspicion that President Momoh wasnot serious about his promise of political reform, as APC rule continued to beincreasingly marked by abuses of power.

The brutalcivil war that was going on in neighbouring Liberia played a significant role inthe outbreak of fighting in Sierra Leone. Charles Taylor –then leader of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia – reportedly helped formthe Revolutionary United Front (RUF) under the command of former Sierra Leonean army corporal Foday Saybana Sankoh, an ethnic Temne from TonkoliliDistrict inNorthern Sierra Leone. Sankoh was a British trained former army corporal whohad also undergone guerrilla training in Libya. Taylor's aim was for the RUF toattack the bases of Nigerian dominated peacekeeping troops in Sierra Leone whowere opposed to his rebel movement in Liberia.

On 29 April1992, a group of young soldiers in the Sierra Leone Army, led by seven armyofficers—Lieutenant Sahr Sandy, Captain Valentine Strasser, Lieutenant Solomon "SAJ"Musa, Captain Komba Mondeh, Lieutenant Tom Nyuma, Captain Julius Maada Bio andCaptain Komba Kambo^[84]—staged a military coup that sent president Momohinto exile in Guinea, and the youngsoldiers established the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC), with25-year-old Captain Valentine Strasser as its chairman and Head of State of thecountry.^[85] The NPRC junta immediatelysuspended the constitution, banned all political parties, limited freedom of speech and freedomof the press andenacted a rule-by-decree policy, in which soldiers were granted unlimitedpowers of administrative detention without charge or trial, and challengesagainst such detentions in court were precluded.

SAJ Musa, achildhood friend of Strasser, became the deputy chairman and deputy leader ofthe NPRC government. Strasser became the world's youngest Head of State when heseized power just three days after his 25th birthday. The NPRC juntaestablished the National Supreme Council of State as the military highestcommand and final authority in all matters and was exclusively made up of thehighest-ranking NPRC soldiers, including Strasser himself and the originalsoldiers who toppled President Momoh.^[85]

One of thetop-ranking soldiers in the NPRC junta, Lieutenant Sahr Sandy, a trusted allyof Strasser, was assassinated, allegedly by Major S.I.M. Turay, a key loyalistof ousted president Momoh. A heavily armed military manhunt was carried outacross the country to find Lieutenant Sandy's killer. However, the mainsuspect, Major S.I.M. Turay, went into hiding and fled the country to Guinea,fearing for his life. Dozens of soldiers loyal to the ousted president Momohwere arrested, including Colonel Kahota M. Dumbuya and Major Yayah Turay.Lieutenant Sandy was given a state funeral and his funeral prayers serviceat the cathedral church in Freetown was attendedby many high-ranking soldiers of the NPRC junta, including Strasser himself andNPRC deputy leader Sergeant Solomon Musa.

The NPRCjunta maintained relations with ECOWAS and strengthened support for SierraLeone-based ECOMOG troops fighting in the Liberian war. On 28 December 1992, analleged coup attempt against the NPRC government of Strasser, aimed at freeingthe detained Colonel Yahya Kanu, Colonel Kahota M.S. Dumbuya and former inspectorgeneral of police Bambay Kamara, was foiled. Several Junior army officers ledby Sergeant Mohamed Lamin Bangura were identified as being behind the coupplot. The coup plot led to the execution of seventeen soldiers by firing squad. Some of those executed includeColonel Kahota Dumbuya, Major Yayah Kanu and Sergeant Mohamed Lamin Bangura.Several prominent members of the Momoh government who had been in detention atthe Pa Demba Road prison, including former inspector general of police BambayKamara, were also executed.^[86]

On 5 July1994 SAJ Musa, who was popular among the general population, particularly inFreetown, was arrested and sent into exile after he was accused of planning acoup to topple Strasser, an accusation SAJ Musa denied. Strasser replaced Musaas deputy NPRC chairman with Captain Bio, who was instantly promoted byStrasser to brigadier.

The NPRC'sefforts proved to be nearly as ineffective as the ousted Momoh administrationin repelling the RUF rebels. More and more of the country fell into the handsof RUF fighters, and by 1994 they had gained control of much of thediamond-rich Eastern Province and were getting close to the capital Freetown.In response, the NPRC hired the services of South African-based private military contractor ExecutiveOutcomes forseveral hundred mercenary fighters in order to strengthen the response to theadvances of the RUF rebels. Within a month they had driven RUF fighters back toenclaves along Sierra Leone's borders and cleared the RUF from the Konodiamond-producing areas of Sierra Leone.

WithStrasser's two most senior NPRC allies and commanders Lieutenant Sahr Sandy andLieutenant SolomonMusa no longeraround to defend him, Strasser's leadership within the NPRC's Supreme Councilof State became fragile. On 16 January 1996, after about four years in power,Strasser was arrested in a palace coup staged by his fellow NPRC soldiers ledby Brigadier Bio at the Defence Headquarters in Freetown.^[87] Strasser was immediately flowninto exile in a militaryhelicopter to Conakry, Guinea. In his first public broadcast tothe nation following the 1996 coup, Brigadier Bio stated that his support forreturning Sierra Leone to a democratically elected civilian government and hiscommitment to ending the civil war were his motivations for the coup.^[88]

Kabbah'stenure: government, "dawn of a new republic", the AFRC and end of theCivil War (1996–2007)

[edit]

Promises ofa return to civilian rule were fulfilled by Bio. Prior to conducting theelection, Sierra Leoneans and international stakeholders were involved in amajor debate on whether the country should focus on trying to end the longrunning civil war, or to conduct elections and hence returning governance backto a civilian-led administration with a multi-party system of parliament thatwould provide the foundation for long-lasting peace and national prosperity.Following the 1995 National Consultative Conference at the Bintumani Hotel inFreetown, dubbed "Bintumani I", which was a Strasser-led initiative,another National Consultative Conference at the same Bintumani Hotel inFreetown, dubbed "Bintumani II", was initiated by the Bioadministration that involved both national and international stakeholders, inan effort to find a viable solution to the issues plaguing the country.^[89] "Peace before Electionsvs Elections before Peace" became a key debate topic and this quicklybecame a point of national discussion. The discussions eventually concludedwith key stakeholders, including Bio's administration and the UN, agreeing thatwhile efforts in finding a peaceful solution to ending the war should continue,a general election should be held as soon as possible.^[89] Bio handed power over to AhmadTejan Kabbah of the SLPP, after the conclusion of elections in early 1996 whichKabbah won. President Kabbah took power with a great promise of ending thecivil war. After taking over, President Kabbah immediately opened dialogue with the RUF and invited theirleader Foday Sankoh for peace negotiations.^[90]

On 25 May1997, 17 soldiers in the Sierra Leone army led by Corporal Tamba Gborie, loyalto the detained Major JohnnyPaul Koroma,launched a military coup which sent President Kabbah into exile in Guinea andthey established the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC). Corporal Gborie quicklywent to the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Services headquarters in New England,Freetown to announce the coup to a shocked nation and to alert all soldiersacross the country to report for guard duty. The soldiers immediately releasedKoroma from prison and installed him as their chairman and Head of State.

Koromasuspended the constitution, banned demonstrations, shut down all private radiostations in the country and invited the RUF to join the new junta government,with its leader Foday Sankoh as the Vice-Chairman of the new AFRC-RUF coalitionjunta government. Within days, Freetown was overwhelmed by the presence of theRUF combatants who came to the city in thousands. The Kamajors, a group oftraditional fighters mostly from the Mende ethnic group under the command ofdeputy Defence Minister SamuelHinga Norman,remained loyal to President Kabbah and defended the Southern part of SierraLeone from the soldiers.

After ninemonths in office, the junta was overthrown by the Nigerian-led ECOMOG forces, and the democraticallyelected government of president Kabbah was reinstated in February 1998. On 19October 1998, 24 soldiers in the Sierra Leone army—including Gborie, BrigadierHassan Karim Conteh, Colonel Samuel Francis Koroma, Major Kula Samba andColonel Abdul Karim Sesay—were executed by firing squad after they wereconvicted in a courtmartial inFreetown, some for orchestrating the 1997 coup that overthrew President Kabbahand others for failure to reverse the mutiny.^[91]

In October1999, the United Nations agreed to send peacekeepers to help restore order anddisarm the rebels. The first of the 6,000-member force began arriving inDecember, and the UNSecurity Council votedin February 2000 to increase the force to 11,000, and later to 13,000. But inMay, when nearly all Nigerian forces had left and UN forceswere trying to disarm the RUF in eastern Sierra Leone, Sankoh's forces clashed with the UN troops,and some 500 peacekeepers were taken hostage as the peace accord effectivelycollapsed. The hostage crisis resulted in more fighting between the RUF and thegovernment as UN troops launched Operation Khukri to end the siege. The Operationwas successful with Indian and British Special Forces being the main contingents.

Thesituation in the country deteriorated to such an extent that British troopswere deployed in OperationPalliser, originallysimply to evacuate foreign nationals. However, the British exceeded theiroriginal mandate and took full military action to finally defeat the rebels andrestore order. The British were the catalyst for the ceasefire that ended thecivil war. Elements of the British Army, together with administrators andpoliticians, remained after withdrawal to help train the armed forces, improvethe infrastructure of the country and administer financial and materialaid. Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of Britain atthe time of the British intervention, is regarded as a hero by the people ofSierra Leone, many of whom are keen for more British involvement.^[92]

Between 1991and 2001, about 50,000 people were killed in Sierra Leone's civil war. Hundreds of thousands ofpeople were forced from their homes and many became refugees in Guinea and Liberia. In 2001, UN forces moved intorebel-held areas and began to disarm rebel soldiers. By January 2002, the warwas declared over. In May 2002, Kabbah was re-elected president by alandslide. By 2004, the disarmament process was complete. Also in 2004, aUN-backed war crimes court began holding trials ofsenior leaders from both sides of the war. In December 2005, UN peacekeepingforces pulled out of Sierra Leone.

2007General Election and beyond

[edit]

Mainarticles: 2007 Sierra Leonean general election and 2018 Sierra Leonean general election

Theelections in 2007 and 2012 marked a return to multi-partydemocracy,with ErnestBai Koroma'selection signaling a period of stability and recovery from the civil war.^[93]

Strugglewith the Ebola epidemic (2014–2016)

[edit]

The Ebola epidemic in 2014 posed a significant health crisis, leading to anational state of emergency and highlighting the ongoing challenges faced inpublic health and governance.^[94]

Geography

[edit]

Mainarticle: Geography of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leoneis located on the southwest coast of West Africa, lying mostly betweenlatitudes 7° and 10°N (a small area is south of 7°),and longitudes 10° and 14°W. The country is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and theAtlantic Ocean to the west and southwest.^[95]

Sierra Leonehas a total area of 71,740 km² (27,699 sq mi),divided into a land area of 71,620 km² (27,653 sq mi)and water of 120 km² (46 sq mi).^[96] The country has four distinctgeographical regions. In eastern Sierra Leone the plateau is interspersed with highmountains, where Mount Bintumani reaches 1,948 m(6,391 ft), the highest point in the country. The upper part of the drainage basin of the Moa River is located in the south of thisregion.

The centreof the country is a region of lowland plains, containing forests, bush and farmland,^[95] that occupies about 43% ofSierra Leone's land area. The northern section of this has been categorised bythe WorldWildlife Fund aspart of the Guinean forest-savanna mosaic ecoregion, while the south is rain-forestedplains and farmland.

In the west,Sierra Leone has some 400 km (249 mi) of Atlantic coastline, givingit both bountiful marine resources and attractive tourist potential. The coasthas areas of low-lying Guinean mangroves swamp. The nationalcapital Freetown sits on a coastal peninsula, situated next to the Sierra LeoneHarbour.

The climateis tropical, with two seasons determining the agricultural cycle: the rainy season from May to November, anda dry season from December to May, whichincludes harmattan, when cool, dry winds blow in offthe SaharaDesert and thenight-time temperature can be as low as 16 °C (60.8 °F). The averagetemperature is 26 °C (78.8 °F) and varies from around 26 to36 °C (78.8 to 96.8 °F) during the year.^[97][98]

Biodiversity

[edit]

Seealso: Wildlife of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leoneis home to four terrestrial ecoregions: Guineanmontane forests, Western Guinean lowland forests, Guinean forest-savanna mosaic, and Guinean mangroves.^[99]

Humanactivities claimed to be responsible or contributing to land degradation in Sierra Leone includeunsustainable agricultural land use, poor soil and water management practices,deforestation, removal of natural vegetation, fuelwood consumption and to alesser extent overgrazing and urbanisation.^[100]

Deforestation, both for commercial timber and tomake room for agriculture, is a major concern and represents an enormous lossof natural economic wealth for the country.^[100] Mining and slash and burn for land conversion – such ascattle grazing – dramatically diminished forested land in Sierra Leone sincethe 1980s. It is listed among countries of concern for emissions, as having LowForest Cover with High Rates of Deforestation (LFHD).^[101] There are concerns that heavylogging continues in the Tama-Tonkoli Forest Reserve in the north. Loggers haveextended their operations to Nimini, Kono District, Eastern Province; Jui,Western Rural District, Western Area; Loma Mountains National Park, Koinadougu,Northern Province; and with plans to start operations in the Kambui Forestreserve in the Kenema District, Eastern Province.^[101] The country had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 2.76/10, rankingit 154th globally out of 172 countries.^[102]

Overfishing is also an issue in SierraLeone.

Habitat degradation for the African wild dog, Lycaon pictus, has beenincreased, such that this canid is deemed to have beenextirpated in Sierra Leone.^[103]

Until 2002,Sierra Leone lacked a forest management system because of the civil war thatcaused tens of thousands of deaths. Deforestation rates have increased 7.3%since the end of the civil war.^[104] On paper, 55 protected areascovered 4.5% of Sierra Leone as of 2003. The country has 2,090 known species of higher plants, 147 mammals, 626 birds, 67 reptiles, 35 amphibians, and 99 fish species.^[104] Unrestricted hunting during thewar led to the decrease of many animal populations, including elephants, lions,and buffalo. Many of these animals can now only be found in sanctuaries. Thetsetse fly, a malaria-carrying mosquito, is now dominant in the region and hasled to an increase in the spread of the disease. Still, Sierra Leone's birdpopulations have been largely the same and includes native birds such ascuckoos, owls, and vultures. The Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary and the GolaForest Reserves are just two examples of the humanitarian efforts to preservewildlife after the civil war.^[105]

The Environmental Justice Foundation has documented how the numberof illegalfishing vesselsin Sierra Leone's waters has multiplied in recent years. The amount of illegalfishing has significantly depleted fish stocks, depriving local fishingcommunities of an important resource for survival. The situation isparticularly serious as fishing provides the only source of income for manycommunities in a country still recovering from over a decade of civil war.^[106]

In June2005, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and BirdLifeInternational agreed to support a conservation-sustainabledevelopment projectin the Gola Forest in south eastern Sierra Leone,^[107] an important surviving fragmentof rainforest in Sierra Leone.

Governmentand politics

[edit]

Mainarticle: Politics of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leoneis a constitutional republic with a directly elected president and a unicamerallegislature. Thecurrent system of the Government of Sierra Leone is based on the 1991 Sierra Leone Constitution. Sierra Leone has a dominant unitary centralgovernment anda weak localgovernment.The executivebranch of theGovernment of Sierra Leone, headed by the president of Sierra Leone has extensive powers and influence. The president isthe most powerful government official in Sierra Leone.^[108]

Thepresident is the head of state, the headof government, andthe commander-in-chief of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces. The president appoints and heads a cabinet of ministers,which must be approved by the Parliament. The president is elected by popular vote to a maximum of two five-yearterms. The president is the highest and most influential position within thegovernment of Sierra Leone.

To beelected president of Sierra Leone, a candidate must gain at least 55% of thevote. If no candidate gets 55%, there is a second-round runoff between the top two candidates.^[109]

The currentpresident of Sierra Leone is former military junta leader Julius Maada Bio.^[110] Bio defeated Samura Kamara of the ruling All People'sCongress (APC) in the country's tightly contested 2018 presidential election.Bio replaced outgoing President Ernest Bai Koroma after Bio was sworn into officeon 4 April 2018 by Chief Justice Abdulai Cham. Bio is the leader of the Sierra Leone People's Party, the current ruling party in Sierra Leone.

Next to thepresident is the vice-president, who is the second highest-ranking government official inthe executive branch of the Sierra Leone Government. As designated by theSierra Leone Constitution, the vice-president is to become the new president ofSierra Leone upon the death, resignation, or removal of the President.

Parliament

[edit]

Mainarticle: Parliament of Sierra Leone

TheParliament of Sierra Leone is unicameral, with 149 seats. Each of thecountry's 16 districts is represented in parliament. 135 members are electedconcurrently with the presidential elections; the other 14 seats are filledby paramountchiefs from thecountry's administrativedistricts.^[111] The Sierra Leone parliament isled by the Speaker of Parliament, who is the overall leader of Parliament andis directly elected by sitting members of parliament. The current speaker ofthe Sierra Leone parliament is Abass Bundu, who was elected by members ofparliament on 21 January 2014.

The currentmembers of the Parliament of Sierra Leone were elected in the 2023 Sierra Leonean general election. The APC currently has 54 of the 135elected parliamentary seats, and the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) has 81 of the seats. Sierra Leone's two mostdominant parties, the APC and the SLPP, collectivelywon every elected seat in Parliament in the 2023 Sierra Leone parliamentaryelection. Members of parliament must be a citizen of Sierra Leone over the ageof twenty-one, be a registered elector, and be proficient in the Englishlanguage.^[108]

Sinceindependence in 1961, Sierra Leone's politics has been dominated by two majorpolitical parties: the SLPP and the APC. Other minor political parties havealso existed but with no significant support.^[112]

Judiciary

[edit]

Mainarticle: Judiciary of Sierra Leone

The judicialpower of Sierra Leone is vested in the judiciary, headed by the Chief Justice of Sierra Leone and comprising the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone, whichis the highest court in the country, meaning that its rulings, therefore,cannot be appealed against. Other courts include the High Court of Justice, theCourt of Appeal, the magistrate courts, and traditional courts in ruralvillages. The president appoints and parliament approves Justices for the threecourts. The Judiciary has jurisdiction in all civil and criminal mattersthroughout the country. The current acting chief justice of Sierra Leone is DesmondBabatunde Edwards.

Foreignrelations

[edit]

Mainarticle: Foreign relations of Sierra Leone

The SierraLeonean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation isresponsible for foreign policy of Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone has diplomaticrelations that include China, Russia,^[113] Libya, Iran, and Cuba.

Sierra Leonehas good relations with the West, including the United States, and hasmaintained historical ties with the United Kingdom and other former British colonies through its membership ofthe Commonwealthof Nations.^[114] The United Kingdom has played amajor role in providing aid to the former colony, together with administrativehelp and military training since intervening to end the Civil War in 2000.

FormerPresident SiakaStevens' governmenthad sought closer relations with other West African countries under the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a policy continued bythe current government. Sierra Leone, along with Liberia, Ivory Coast and Guinea, form the Mano River Union (MRU). It is primarily designedto implement development projects and promote regional economicintegration betweenthe four countries.^[115]

Sierra Leoneis also a member of the United Nations and its specialised agencies,the AfricanUnion, the African Development Bank (AFDB), the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC),and the Non-AlignedMovement (NAM).^[116] Sierra Leone is a member ofthe International Criminal Court with a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the US military (ascovered under Article 98).

Military

[edit]

Mainarticle: Military of Sierra Leone

The Militaryof Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF),are the unified armed forces of Sierra Leone responsible for the territorialsecurity of Sierra Leone's border and defending the national interests ofSierra Leone within the framework of its international obligations. The armedforces were formed after independence in 1961, based on elements of the formerBritish Royal West African Frontier Force present in the country. TheSierra Leone Armed Forces consist of around 15,500 personnel, comprising thelargest Sierra Leone Army,^[117] the Sierra Leone Navy and theSierra Leone Air Wing.^[118]

The president of Sierra Leone is the Commanderin Chief of themilitary and the Minister of Defence responsible for defence policy and theformulation of the armed forces.^[119][120]

When SierraLeone gained independence in 1961, the Royal Sierra Leone Military Force wascreated from the Sierra Leone Battalion of the West African Frontier Force.^[121] The military seized control in1968, bringing the National Reformation Council into power. On 19 April 1971, when Sierra Leone becamea republic, the Royal Sierra Leone Military Forces were renamed the Republic ofSierra Leone Military Force (RSLMF).^[121][122] The RSLMF remained asingle-service organisation until 1979 when the Sierra Leone Navy wasestablished. In 1995 Defence Headquarters was established, and the Sierra LeoneAir Wing was formed. The RSLMF was renamed as the Armed Forces of the Republicof Sierra Leone (AFRSL).

Lawenforcement

[edit]

Lawenforcement in Sierra Leone is primarily the responsibility of the SierraLeone Police (SLP),which is accountable to the Minister of Internal Affairs (appointed by thepresident). Sierra Leone Police was established by the British colony in 1894; it is one of theoldest police forces in West Africa. It works to prevent crime, protect lifeand property, detect and prosecute offenders, maintain public order, ensure safety and security, andenhance access to justice. The Sierra Leone Police is headed by the Inspector General of Police, the professional head of the Sierra Leone Police force, whois appointed by the president of Sierra Leone.

Each oneof Sierra Leone's 14 districts is headed by a district police commissioner who is theprofessional head of their respective district. These Police Commissionersreport directly to the Inspector General of Police at the Sierra Leone Policeheadquarters in Freetown. The current Inspector General of Police is William Fayia Sellu, who was appointed to the position by President president Julius MaddaBio on 27 July 2022 to replace Ambrose Sovula, who had been in thepost since March 2020.^[123][124]

Humanrights

[edit]

Mainarticle: Human rights in Sierra Leone

Male same-sex sexual activity is illegal under Section 61 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861, and imprisonment for life ispossible.^[125][126]

Excessive police brutality is also a frequent problem.Protesters have been killed by security forces, as have prison rioters (in oneincident at Pademba Road Prison, 30 inmates andone correctionofficer werekilled). Multiple allegations were made during the COVID-19 lockdown period ofpolice attacking people trying to obtain basic necessities.^[127]

Leadershipin World governance initiatives

[edit]

Sierra Leonehas been one of the signatories of the agreement to convene a convention fordrafting a worldconstitution.^[128][129] As a result, in 1968, for thefirst time in human history, a World Constituent Assembly convened to draft and adopt the Constitution for the Federation of Earth.^[130] Milton Margai, then president of Sierra Leone, signed the agreement to convene a World ConstituentAssembly.^[131]

Administrativedivisions

[edit]

Mainarticle: Administrative divisions of Sierra Leone

The Republicof Sierra Leone is composed of five regions: the Northern Province, North West Province, Southern Province, the Eastern Province, and the Western Area. Four provinces are further dividedinto 14 districts; the Western Area is divided into two districts.

Theprovincial districts are divided into 186 chiefdoms, which have traditionallybeen led by paramountchiefs, recognisedby the British administration in 1896 at the time of organising theProtectorate of Sierra Leone. The Paramount Chiefs are influential,particularly in villages and small rural towns.^[132] Each chiefdom has rulingfamilies that were recognised at that time; the Tribal Authority, made up oflocal notables, elects the paramount chief from the ruling families.^[132] Typically, chiefs have thepower to "raise taxes, control the judicial system, and allocate land, themost important resource in rural areas".^[133]

Within thecontext of local governance, the districts are governed as localities.Each has a directly elected local district council to exercise authority andcarry out functions at a local level.^[134][135] In total, there are 19 localcouncils: 13 district councils, one for each of the 12 districts and one forthe Western Area Rural, and six municipalities also have elected localcouncils. The six municipalities include Freetown, which functions as the localgovernment for the Western Area Urban District, and Bo, Bonthe, Kenema, Koidu, and Makeni.^{[134][136][137]}

While thedistrict councils are under the oversight of their respective provincialadministrations, the municipalities are directly overseen by the Ministry ofLocal Government & Community Development and thus administrativelyindependent of district and provincial administrations.

Economy

[edit]

Mainarticle: Economy of Sierra Leone

By the1990s, economic activity was declining and economic infrastructure had becomeseriously degraded. Over the next decade, much of the formal economy wasdestroyed in the country's civil war. Since the end of hostilities in January2002, massive infusions of outside assistance have helped Sierra Leone begin torecover.^[148]

Much of therecovery will depend on the success of the government's efforts to limitcorruption by officials, which many feel was the chief cause of the civil war.A key indicator of success will be the effectiveness of government managementof its diamond sector.

There ishigh unemployment, particularly among the youth and ex-combatants. Authoritieshave been slow to implement reforms in the civil service, and the pace of theprivatisation programme is also slackening and donors have urged itsadvancement. As of the most recent survey in 2019, 59.2% of the populationcontinues to be affected by multidimensional poverty and an additional 21.3% vulnerable to it.^[19]

The currencyis the leone. The central bank is the Bankof Sierra Leone.Sierra Leone operates a floating exchange rate system, and foreign currenciescan be exchanged at any of the commercial banks, recognised foreignexchange bureaux and most hotels. Credit card use islimited in Sierra Leone, though they may be used at some hotels andrestaurants. There are a few internationally linked automated teller machines that accept Visa cards in Freetown operated byProCredit Bank.

Agriculture

[edit]

Furtherinformation: Agriculture in Sierra Leone

Two-thirdsof the population of Sierra Leone are directly involved in subsistenceagriculture.^[149] Agriculture accounted for 58per cent of grossdomestic product (GDP)in 2007.^[150]

Agricultureis the largest employer with 80 per cent of the population working in thesector.^[151] Rice is the most important staple crop in Sierra Leone with85 per cent of farmers cultivating rice during the rainy season^[152] and an annual consumption of76 kg (167.5 lbs) per person.^[153]

Mining

[edit]

Furtherinformation: Mining in Sierra Leone

Rich inminerals, Sierra Leone has relied on mining, especially diamonds, for itseconomic base. The country is among the top ten diamond producing countries.Mineral exports remain the main currency earner. Sierra Leone is a majorproducer of gem-quality diamonds. Though rich in diamonds, it has historicallystruggled to manage their exploitation and export.

Sierra Leoneis known for its blood diamonds that were mined and sold todiamond conglomerates during the civilwar, to buy theweapons that fuelled its atrocities.^[154] In the 1970s and early 1980s,economic growth rate slowed because of a decline in the mining sector andincreasing corruption among government officials.

Annualproduction of Sierra Leone's diamond estimates a range between US$250million–$300 million. Some of that is smuggled, where it is possibly used for money laundering or financing illicitactivities. Formal exports have dramatically improved since the civil war, withefforts to improve the management of them having some success. In October 2000,a UN-approved certification system for exporting diamonds from the country wasput in place which led to a dramatic increase in legal exports. In 2001, thegovernment created a mining community development fund (DACDF), which returns a portion of diamond export taxes to diamondmining communities. The fund was created to raise local communities' stakes inthe legal diamond trade.

Sierra Leonehas one of the world's largest deposits of rutile, a titanium ore used as paint pigment and welding rod coatings.

Transportinfrastructure

[edit]

Mainarticle: Transport in Sierra Leone

There areseveral systems of transport in Sierra Leone, which has a road, air and waterinfrastructure, including a network of highways and several airports. There are11,300 kilometres (7,000 miles) of highways in Sierra Leone, of which904 km (562 mi)^[96] are paved (about 8% of theroads). Sierra Leone's highways are linked to Conakry, Guinea, and Monrovia, Liberia.

Sierra Leonehas the largest natural harbour on the African continent,allowing international shipping through the QueenElizabeth II Quay inthe Cline Town areaof eastern Freetown or through Government Wharf in central Freetown. There are800 km (497 mi) of waterways in Sierra Leone, of which 600 km(373 mi) are navigable year-round. Major port cities are Bonthe, Freetown, Sherbro Island and Pepel.

There areten regionalairports inSierra Leone, and one internationalairport. The Freetown International Airport located in the coastal townof Lungi in Northern Sierra Leone is theprimary airport for domestic and international travel to or from Sierra Leone.Passengers cross the river to Aberdeen Heliports in Freetown by hovercraft, ferry or a helicopter. Helicopters are also available fromthe airport to other major cities in the country. The airport has paved runways longer than 3,047metres (9,997 feet). The other airports have unpaved runways, and seven haverunways from 914 to 1,523 metres (2,999 to 4,997 feet) long; the remaining twohave shorter runways.

Sierra Leoneappears on the EU list of prohibited countries with regard to the certificationof airlines. This means that no airline registered in Sierra Leone may operateservices of any kind within the European Union. This is due to substandardsafety standards.^[155]

As of March2023, the country's only international airport had regularly scheduled direct flights to Istanbul, Paris, Brusselsand most major cities in West Africa.

In September2014 there were many Districts with travel restrictions including Kailahun,Kenema, Bombali, Tonkolili, and Port Loko because of Ebola.^[156]

Energy inSierra Leone

[edit]

[edit]

As of 2016,about 12% of the population of Sierra Leone had access to electricity. Of that12%, 10% was in the capital Freetown, and the remaining 90% of the country used2% of the nation's electricity.^[157] The majority of the populationrelies on biomass fuels for their daily survival, with firewood and coal usedmost prevalently.^[158] The burning of these sourceshas been reported to have adverse health effects on women and children.^[158] A 2012 study was done on thecorrelation between Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI), and burning biomassfuels in the home. The results were that 64% of children were diagnosed withARI where firewood stoves were used, and 44% where charcoal stoves were used.^[158] The use of coal and firewoodhas also posed environmental concerns as they are both in conflict with thepush for more sustainable sources of energy.^[159] As a result, thecommercialisation of firewood and coal has been a point of contention with aiddonors and government agencies such as the Ministry of Energy and WaterResources and the Forestry Division.^[159] There have been strong pushesfor both solar and hydropower to become the dominant sources of energy inSierra Leone because of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, particularly goal number seven (affordable and cleanenergy). Sierra Leone's tropical climate, heavy annual rainfall, and abundanceof rivers give it the potential to realistically pursue more solar andhydropower alternatives.^[160]

Solarenergy

[edit]

Inconjunction with the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), Sierra Leone has setthe goal to provide solar power to all of its citizens by 2025.^[161] This overarching goal has beenbroken down into smaller goals as well. The first of these goals is to providesolar power to at least 50,000 homes in 2016, the second is 250,000 homes by2017, and finally to provide power to 1,000,000 people by 2020.^[161] This initiative falls underthe Energy Africa access campaign which seeks to provide electricity to14 different African countries by 2030.^[157] Previous to this compactagreement, Sierra Leone's private sector for solar energy was weak, as itprovided energy to less than 5% of the target population.^[157] Part of the reason for this wasdue to the import duties and taxes and the lack of quality control.^[157] To ensure that the EnergyAfrica goal is met, Sierra Leone has agreed to remove its import duties andValue Added Tax (VAT) on certified solar products.^[161] This change will attempt toencourage foreign investment while providing affordable, quality solar productsto its citizens. It is estimated that there will be a 30% to 40% cost reductionon solar products with the lack of duties and taxes.^[157]

Hydroelectricpower

[edit]

As of 2012,Sierra Leone has 3 main hydroelectric plants. The first is the Guma plant whichwas decommissioned in 1982, the second is the Dodo Plant which is located inthe Eastern Province, and finally the Bumbuna plant.^[160] There is also potential forseveral new hydroelectric plants to be opened on the Sewa River, Pampana River,Seli River, Moa River, and Little Scarcies.^[160] Amongst all these projects,both finished and potential, the Bumbuna dam still remains the largest of thehydroelectric projects in Sierra Leone.^[160] It is located near the SeliRiver and Freetown and was estimated to produce about 50 megawatts ofelectricity.^[162] There were plans to increaseits capacity 400 megawatts by 2017 which would cost around $750 million.^[163] It has been projected that theBumbuna dam could potentially reduce the amount of spending on foreign fuel andsave the country at least $2 million a month.^[164] In the past this projectreceived its funding of over $200 million from a combination of the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and the Italian company Salini Impregilo.^[162]

Demographics

[edit]

Mainarticles: Demographics of Sierra Leone and Languages of Sierra Leone

In 2019Sierra Leone had a population of 7,813,215^[165] and a growth rate of 2.216% ayear.^[96] The country's population ismostly young, with an estimated 41.7% under 15, and rural, with an estimated62% of people living outside the cities.^[96] As a result of migration tocities, the population is becoming more urban with an estimated rate ofurbanisation growth of 2.9% a year.^[96][166]

Populationdensity varies greatly within Sierra Leone. The Western Area Urban District, including Freetown, the capital and largest city, has apopulation density of 1,224 persons per square km. The largest districtgeographically, Koinadugu, has a much lower density of 21.4persons per square km.^[166]

English isthe officiallanguage,^[167] spoken at schools, governmentadministration and in the media. Krio (derived from English andseveral indigenous African languages, and the language of the Sierra Leone Creole people) is the most widely spoken language in virtually all partsof Sierra Leone. As the Krio language is spoken by 96% of the country'spopulation,^[96][168] it unites all thedifferent ethnic groups,especially in their trade and interaction with each other.^[169] Krio is the primary language ofcommunication among Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad,^[170] and has also heavilyinfluenced SierraLeonean English.^[171]

After thecontribution made by the Bangladesh UN Peacekeeping Force in the SierraLeone Civil War underthe United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone, the government of Ahmad TejanKabbah declared Bengali an honorary official languagein December 2002.^[172][173]

According tothe World Refugee Survey 2008, published by the US Committee forRefugees and Immigrants, Sierra Leone had a population of 8,700 refugees and asylum seekers at the endof 2007. Nearly 20,000 Liberian refugees voluntarily returned to Liberia over the course of 2007. Of therefugees remaining in Sierra Leone, nearly all were Liberian.^[174]

Thepopulations quoted above for the five largest cities are from the 2004 census.The figure for Freetown is for the Western Urban Area (Greater Freetown). Otherfigures are estimates from the source cited. Different sources give differentestimates. Some claim that Magburaka shouldbe included in the above list, but there is considerable difference amongsources. One source estimates the population at 14,915,^[176] whilst another puts it as highas 85,313.^[177] "Pandebu-Tokpombu" ispresumably the extended town of Torgbonbu, which had a population of 10,716 inthe 2004 census. "Gbendembu" had a larger population of 12,139 inthat census. In the 2004 census, Waterloo had a population of 34,079.

Religion

[edit]

Mainarticle: Religion in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leoneis officially a secular state. Islam and Christianity are the two main religions inthe country. The constitution of Sierra Leone provides for freedomof religion andthe Sierra Leone Government generally protects it. The Sierra LeoneanGovernment is constitutionally forbidden from establishing a state religion, though Muslim and Christian prayersare usually held in the country at the beginning of major political occasions,including presidential inaugurations and the official opening of the newsession of Parliament.

Surveys ofthe religious make up of Sierra Leone vary widely, though Muslims make up the majority of thepopulation. Based on 2015 estimates of the population of Sierra Leone, 77% ofthe population are Muslims, 22% are Christians, and 1% practise African traditional religion.

According to2020 estimates by the PewResearch Center^[178] 78.5% of Sierra Leone'spopulation are Muslims (mostly Sunni), 20.4% are Christians (mostly Protestants) and 1.1% belong to a traditionalAfrican religion or other beliefs. The Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leoneestimated that 77% of Sierra Leone's population are Muslims, 21% areChristians, and 2% are followers of traditional African religions.^[179] Most of Sierra Leone's ethnicgroups are Muslim majority, including the country's two largest ethnic groups:the Mende and Temne.

Sierra Leoneis regarded as one of the most religiously tolerant countries in the world.^{[180][181][182]} Most of the major Muslim andChristian holidays are officially national holidays in the country, and religiousconflict is rare.^[183]

The countryis home to the Sierra Leone Inter-Religious Council, which is made up of bothChristian and Muslim religious leaders to promote peace and tolerancethroughout the country.^{[184][185][186]} The Islamic holidays of Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and Maulid-un-Nabi (Birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) are observed as national holidays in Sierra Leone. The Christian holidays of Christmas, Boxing Day, Good Friday and Easter are also national holidays inSierra Leone. In politics, the overwhelming majority of Sierra Leoneans votefor a candidate without regard of the candidate being a Muslim or a Christian.^{[citation needed]} All of Sierra Leone's Heads of State have beenChristians except Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, who was a Muslim.

Theoverwhelming majority of Sierra Leonean Muslims are adherent to the Sunnitradition of Islam in practice. Most of the Mosques and Islamic schools acrossSierra Leone are based on Sunni Islam. Ahmadiyya Muslims make up about 10% of thecountry's Muslim population. Sierra Leone has a vibrant Ahmaddiya Muslimpopulation, especially in the southern city of Bo, which is home to a large Ahmadiyya Muslimpopulation. There are five hundred Ahmadiyya Mosques across Sierra Leone.^[187] Shia Islam does not have a strong presencein Sierra Leone, and there are virtually no Shia Muslims in the country. Most SierraLeonean Muslims of the Sunni and Ahmadiyya sect generally pray together in thesame mosque.^[188][189] The vast majority of SierraLeonean Muslims are adherent to the Maliki school of Sunni Islam. The Malikischool is by far the largest and most dominant Islamic school of jurisprudenceacross Sierra Leone. Many Ahmadiyya Muslims in Sierra Leone also follow theMaliki Jurisprudence.

The SierraLeone Islamic Supreme Council is the highest Islamic religious organisation inSierra Leone and is made up of the country's Imams, Islamic scholars, and otherIslamic clerics across the country. Sheikh Muhammad Taha Jalloh is thepresident of the Sierra Leone Supreme Islamic Council.^[190] The United Council of Imams isan influential Islamic religious body in Sierra Leone that is made up ofall imams of mosques throughout SierraLeone. The president of the United Council of Imam is Sheikh Alhaji Muhammad Habib Sheriff.^[191] The two largest mosques inSierra Leone are the FreetownCentral Mosque andthe Ghadafi Central Mosque (builtby former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi), both located in the capital Freetown.

The largemajority of Sierra Leonean Christians are Protestant, of which the largestgroups are the Wesleyan – Methodists.^{[192][193][194][195][196]} Other ChristianProtestant denominations with significant presence inthe country include Presbyterians,^[197] Baptists,^[198] Seventh-day Adventists,^[199] Anglicans,^[200] Lutherans,^[201][202] and Pentecostals.^[203] The Council of Churches is theChristian religious organisation that is made up of Protestant churches acrossSierra Leone. Recently there has been an increase of Pentecostal churches,especially in Freetown.

In September2017, a Sierra Leone-based Nigerian Pentecostal Christian pastor name VictorAjisafe was arrested by the SierraLeone Police andheld in jail after he made controversialremarks against Islam and Sierra Leonean Muslims in particular at hischurch sermon in the capital Freetown.Ajisafe was apparently angry after a Zimbabwean Muslim cleric Mufti Menk had visited Sierra Leone andpreached to large crowds.^[204] Many Christian organisations inSierra Leone, including the Council of Churches, condemned Ajisafe's sermonagainst Islam and Muslims. Ajisafe's church was temporarily shut down by theSierra Leone government and his church licence was temporarily suspended too.The incident brought religious tension in Sierra Leone, in a country known forits high level of religious tolerance, as many Sierra Leonean Muslims at homeand abroad called for Ajisafe to be deported back to his home countryof Nigeria. The pastor while in SierraLeone police custody apologised to Sierra LeoneanMuslims and to the government of Sierra Leone. After several days in jail,Ajisafe was released, his church licence was given back to him, and his churchwas later reopened under strict government conditions during several monthsof probation.

Non-denominational Protestants form a significant minority ofSierra Leone's Christian population.^[205] Catholics are the largest group ofnon-Protestant Christians in Sierra Leone, forming about 8% of Sierra Leone'spopulation and 26% of the Christian population in Sierra Leone.^[206] The Jehovah'sWitnesses^[207] and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints^[208][209] are the two mostprominent non-Trinitarian Christians in Sierra Leone, andthey form a small but significant minority of the Christian population inSierra Leone. A small community of OrthodoxChristians residesin the capital Freetown.^[210]

Ethnicgroups

[edit]

Furtherinformation: Ethnic groups in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leoneis home to about sixteen ethnic groups, each with its own language. Thelargest and most influential are the Temne at about 35.5% and the Mende atabout 33.2%. The Temne predominate in the Northern Sierra Leone and some areas around the capital of Sierra Leone. The Mende predominate in South-Eastern Sierra Leone (with the exception of Kono District).

The vastmajority of Temne are Muslims at over 85%, with a significant Christianminority at about 10%. The Mende are also Muslim majority at about 70%, thoughwith a large Christian minority at about 30%. Sierra Leone's national politicscentres on the competition between the north-west, dominated by the Temne, andthe south-east dominated by the Mende. The vast majority of the Mende supportthe Sierra Leone People's Party; while the majority of the Temne support theAll People's Congress.^[211]

The Mende,who are believed to be descendants of the Mane,^{[citation needed]} originally occupied the Liberian hinterland.They began moving into Sierra Leone slowly and peacefully in the eighteenthcentury. The Temne are said to have migrated from FutaJallon, which is in present-day Guinea.

Thethird-largest ethnic group is the Limba atabout 8.4% of the population. The Limba are native people of Sierra Leone. Theyhave no tradition of origin, and it is believed that they have lived in SierraLeone since before the European encounter. The Limba are primarily found inNorthern Sierra Leone, particularly in Bombali, Kambia and Koinadugu District. The Limba are about 60%Christian and 40% Muslim. The Limba are close political allies of theneighbouring Temne.

Sinceindependence, the Limba have traditionally been influential in Sierra Leone'spolitics, along with the Mende. The vast majority of Limba support the AllPeople's Congress (APC) political party. Sierra Leone's first and secondpresidents, SiakaStevens and JosephSaidu Momoh,respectively, were both ethnic Limba. Sierra Leone's former defense minister Alfred Paolo Conteh is an ethnic Limba.

One of thebiggest minority ethnic groups are the Fula ataround 3.8% of the population. Descendants of seventeenth- andeighteenth-century Fula migrant settlers from the Fouta Djalon region of Guinea, they liveprimarily in the northeast and the western area of Sierra Leone. The Fula arevirtually all Muslims at over 99%. The Fula are primarily traders, and many live in middle-classhomes.^{[citation needed]} Because of their trading, the Fulas are found innearly all parts of the country.

The otherethnic groups are the Mandingo (also known as Mandinka). They are descendants of tradersfrom Guinea who migrated to Sierra Leone during the late nineteenth tomid-twentieth centuries. The Mandinka are predominantly found in the east andthe northern part of the country. They predominate in the large towns, mostnotably Karina, in Bombali District in thenorth; Kabala and Falaba inKoinadugu District in the north; and Yengema, Kono District in the east of the country.Like the Fula, the Mandinka are virtually all Muslims at over 99%. SierraLeone's third president, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, and Sierra Leone's firstVice-President, Sorie Ibrahim Koroma, were both ethnicMandingo.

Next inproportion are the Kono, who live primarily in Kono Districtin Eastern Sierra Leone. The Kono are descendants of migrants from Guinea;today their workers are known primarily as diamond miners. The majority of theKono ethnic group are Christians, though with an influential Muslim minority.Sierra Leone's former Vice-President Alhaji Samuel Sam-Sumana is an ethnic Kono.

The smallbut significant Creole or Krio people (descendants of freed AfricanAmerican, West Indian and Liberated African slaveswho settled in Freetown between 1787 and about 1885) make up about 3% of thepopulation. They primarily occupy the capital city of Freetown and its surrounding Western Area. Creole or Krio culture reflects theWestern culture and ideals within which many of their ancestors originated –they also had close ties with British officials and colonial administrationduring years of development.

The Creolesor Krio have traditionally dominated Sierra Leone's judiciary and Freetown'selected city council. One of the first ethnic groups to become educatedaccording to Western traditions, they have traditionally been appointed topositions in the civil service, beginning during the colonial years. Theycontinue to be influential in the civil service. The Creoles or Krios arevirtually all Christians at about 99%.

The Oku people are the descendants ofliberated Muslim Yorubas from Southwest Nigeria, who were released from slave shipsand resettled in Sierra Leone as Liberated Africans or came as settlers in the mid-19th century. TheOku people primarily reside in the communities of Fourah Bay, Fula Town, andAberdeen in Freetown. The Oku are virtually all Muslims at about 99%.

Otherminority ethnic groups are the Kuranko,who are related to the Mandingo and are largely Muslims. The Kuranko arebelieved to have begun arriving in Sierra Leone from Guinea in about 1600 andsettled in the north, particularly in Koinadugu District. The Kuranko are primarilyfarmers; leaders among them have traditionally held several senior positions inthe Military. The current Governor of the Bankof Sierra Leone KaifalaMarah is an ethnic Kuranko. The Kuranko are largely Muslim majority.

The Loko in the north are native peopleof Sierra Leone, believed to have lived in Sierra Leone since the time ofEuropean encounter. Like the neighbouring Temne, the Loko are Muslim majority.The Susu and their related Yalunka aretraders; both groups are primarily found in the far north in Kambia andKoinadugu District close to the border with Guinea. The Susu and Yalunkakingdom was established in the early fifth seventh century^{[clarification needed]} before the Mali empire, which was extended fromMali, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry to the northern part of SierraLeone. They are the original owners of the Futa Djallon region covered by avars land area both the Susu and Yalunka people are descendants of the Mandepeople. They are virtually all Muslims. The Yalunka also spelled Jallonke,Yalonga, Djallonké, Djallonka or Dialonké, are Mande people who have lived inthe Djallon, a mountainous region in Sierra Leone, Mali, Senegal, GuineaBissau, and Guinea Conakry West Africa over 520 years ago. The name Yalunkaliterally means "inhabitants of the Jallon (mountains)". Manga Sewawas born in Falaba, Solima chiefdom, in the Northern Province of British SierraLeone to Yalunka parents. His father was a Yalunka paramount chief of Solima, aprosperous chieftaincy. Its capital, Falaba, was on the rich trading routesleading to the coast. Manga Sewa's father had several wives and dozens ofchildren. are traders; both groups are primarily found in the far northin Kambia and Koinadugu District close to theborder with Guinea. The Susu and Yalunka are both descendants of migrants fromGuinea; they both are virtually all Muslims at over 99%.

The Kissi live further inland inSouth-Eastern Sierra Leone. They predominate in the large town of Koindu andits surrounding areas in Kailahun District. The vast majority of Kissi areChristians. The much smaller Vai and Kru peoples are primarily found in Kailahun and Pujehun Districts near theborder with Liberia. The Kru predominate in the Kroubay neighbourhood in thecapital of Freetown. The Vai are largely Muslim majority at about 90%, whilethe Kru are virtually all Christians at over 99%.

On the coastin Bonthe District in the south are the Sherbro. Native to Sierra Leone, they haveoccupied SherbroIsland since itwas founded. The Sherbro are primarily fisherman and farmers, and they are predominantly found inBonthe District. The Sherbro are virtually all Christians, and their paramountchiefs had a history of intermarriage with British colonists and traders.

A smallnumber of Sierra Leoneans are of partial or full Lebanese ancestry, descendants oftraders who first came to the territory in the 19th century. They are locallyknown as Sierra Leonean-Lebanese. The Sierra Leonean-Lebanese community areprimarily traders and they mostly live in middle-class households in the urbanareas, primarily in Freetown, Bo, Kenema, Koidu Town and Makeni.

Genderequality

[edit]

Household

[edit]

Althoughwomen account for about 50 percent of the population in Sierra Leone, only 28percent are household heads.^[212] As in the rest of thecountries, education is a key factor in succeeding in aspects such as awell-paid job and covering the needs of a house. Rural areas are the mostcommon to lack access to education having only male-headed four percent aheadof females with basic education and 1.2 percent more at the post-graduatelevel.^[212]

In SierraLeone, normally, men are automatically positioned as household heads; and theirstatus does not change if their marital status changes over time.^[212] However, a female householddoes change depending on their marital status. A woman can be the head of thehouse only if she remains single for the rest of her life. But if a woman getsmarried, she will not be entitled to be the head of the house anymore.^[212] Females can take over thehousehold head if they become widowed or divorced.^[212]

In thelabour field, it is expected that the household will financially provide forthe needs of the family. However, females face gender discrimination makingthem the target of lower incomes and financial struggles.^[212] In numbers, females present alower percentage (6.3) versus males (15.2) when it comes to being paidemployees.^[212]

War

[edit]

Children whohave been forced to be part of a war have experienced severe mental andemotional damage in Sierra Leone. However, the damage and way to deal with theeffects of war depends on the gender of the kids. Both genders experienced andwere involved in high levels of violence. Females, experiencing higher levelsof rapes, presented greater signs of depression and anxiety.^[213] Males, on the other hand,presented higher levels of anxiety and hostility.^[213] Males also showed to be morevulnerable to depression after losing a caregiver.^[213]

Femaleeconomy

[edit]

Women facediscrimination when it comes to obtaining financial, social, and cultural helpto start a business.^[73] It is difficult to avoid theeconomic paralysis in Sierra Leone given that more than half of the populationin the country is women.^[73] Due to the lack of access tobasic education, women are the least prepared when it comes to processingbusiness licences, registering names or contracting.^[73] Not having the capital to starta new business is the biggest barrier for women.^[73] With the lack of technology,mostly in all Sierra Leone, it is hard to help a business to function.^[73]

Education

[edit]

Mainarticle: Education in Sierra Leone

Education inSierra Leone is legally required for all children for six years at primary level (Class P1-P6) and three yearsin junior secondary education,^[214] but a shortage of schools andteachers has made implementation impossible.^[83] Two thirds of the adultpopulation of the country are illiterate.^[215]

The SierraLeone Civil War resultedin the destruction of 1,270 primary schools, and in 2001, 67% of all school-agechildren were out of school.^[83] The situation has improvedconsiderably since then with primary school enrolment doubling between 2001 and2005 and the reconstruction of many schools since the end of the war.^[216] Students at primary schools areusually 6 to 12 years old, and in secondary schools 13 to 18. Primary educationis free and compulsory in government-sponsored public schools.

The countryhas three universities: Fourah Bay College, founded in 1827 (the oldestuniversity in West Africa),^[217] University of Makeni(established initially in September 2005 as The Fatima Institute, the collegewas granted university status in August 2009, and assumed the name Universityof Makeni, or UNIMAK), and Njala University, primarily located in Bo District. Njala University was established asthe Njala Agricultural Experimental Station in 1910 and became a university in2005.^[218] Teacher training colleges andreligious seminaries are found in many parts of the country.

Health

[edit]

Mainarticle: Health in Sierra Leone

The CIA estimatedthat the average life expectancy in Sierra Leone was 57.39 years.^[219]

Theprevalence of HIV/AIDS in the population is 1.6%,higher than the world average of 1% but lower than the average of 6.1%across Sub-SaharanAfrica.^[220]

Medical careis not readily accessible, with doctors and hospitals out of reach for manyvillagers. While free health care may be provided in some villages, the medicalstaff is poorly paid and sometimes charge for their services, taking advantageof the fact that the villagers are not aware of their right to free medicalcare.^[221]

A dialysismachine, the first of its kind in the country, was donated by Israel.^[222]

According toan Overseas Development Institute report, private healthexpenditure accounts for 85.7% of total spending on health.^[223]

Emergencymedical response

[edit]

Having hadno formal emergency medical services previously, the First Responder Coalition of Sierra Leone (FRCSL) was formed in June 2019in Makeni tofacilitate the development of emergency first responder programs nationwide.^[224] The founding members of theCoalition included the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society (the first chairingorganisation), LFR International (proposed the formation),the Universityof Makeni, Agency for Rural CommunityTransformation, andthe Holy Spirit Hospital.^[224] The establishment of theCoalition was concurrent with the declaration by the 72nd World Health Assemblythat emergency care systems are essential to universal health coverage.^[225] Between June and July 2019, theFRCSL trained 1,000 community members from Makeni to be first responders andequipped each trainee with a first aid kit.^[226]

Endemicand infectious diseases

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Sierra Leonesuffers from epidemic outbreaks of diseases,including yellowfever, cholera, Ebola, lassa fever and meningitis.^[227][228] Yellow fever and malaria are endemic to Sierra Leone.^[228]

Maternaland child health

[edit]

According to2017 estimates, Sierra Leone has the third highest maternalmortality ratein the world.^[229] For every 100 livebornchildren, one mother dies due to complications of giving birth.^[229]

In theMultiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) conducted by UNICEF in 2012, theprevalence of female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone was 94%.^[230] As of 2014, Sierra Leone wasestimated as having the 11th highest infant mortality rate in the world.^[231]

One of theconsequences women in Sierra Leone face after a prolonged and obstructed labourthat would have required a c-section is obstetric fistula. This condition often drives womeninto poverty and isolation.^[232]

The AWC-Aberdeen Women's Centre in Freetown, the second busiest hospital inSierra Leone, delivering up to 3000 babies each year.^[233] The centre provides freesurgery for women suffering from this condition.

The centreprovides a variety of maternal and child health services and is supported bynot-for-profit organisations such as Freedom from Fistula,^[234] The Aminata MaternalFoundation,^{[235][better source needed]} and UNFPA.^[236]

Mentalhealth

[edit]

Mentalhealthcare inSierra Leone is almost non-existent. Many sufferers try to cure themselves withthe help of traditional healers.^[237] During the CivilWar (1991–2002),many soldiers took part in atrocities and many children were forced to fight.This left them traumatised, with an estimated 400,000 people (by 2009) beingmentally ill. Thousands of former child soldiers have fallen into substanceabuse as they try to blunt their memories.^[238]

Potablewater supply

[edit]

Mainarticle: Water supply in Sierra Leone

The watersupply in Sierra Leone is characterised by limited access to safe drinkingwater. Despite efforts by the government and numerous non-governmentalorganisations, access has not much improved since the end of the Sierra LeoneCivil War in 2002, stagnating at about 50% and even declining in rural areas.^[239] It is hoped that a new dam inOrugu, for which China committed financing in 2009, will alleviate water scarcity.^[240]

According toa national survey carried out in 2006, 84% of the urban population and 32% ofthe rural population had access to an improvedwater source. Thosewith access in rural areas were served almost exclusively by protected wells.The 68% of the rural population without access to an improved water sourcerelied on surface water (50%), unprotected wells (9%) and unprotected springs(9%). Only 20% of the urban population and 1% of the rural population hadaccess to piped drinking water in their home. Compared to the 2000 surveyaccess has increased in urban areas, but has declined in rural areas, possiblybecause facilities have broken down because of a lack of maintenance.^[239][241]

With a newdecentralisation policy, embodied in the Local Government Act of 2004,responsibility for water supply in areas outside the capital was passed fromthe central government to local councils. In Freetown, the Guma Valley WaterCompany remains in charge of the water supply.

2014Ebola outbreak

[edit]

Furtherinformation: Ebola virus epidemic in Sierra Leone

Ebola isprevalent in Africa where social and economic inequalities are common. Thecentral African countries are the most prevalent of EVD, like the DemocraticRepublic of Congo, Sudan, Uganda, and Gabon.^[242]

In 2014there was an outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa. As of 19 October 2014,there had been 3,706 cases of Ebola in Sierra Leone, and 1,259 deaths,including that of the leading physician trying to control the outbreak, Sheik Umar Khan.^[243][244] In early August 2014 Guinea closed its borders to SierraLeone to help contain the spreading of the virus, which originated in Guinea,as more new cases of the disease were being reported in Sierra Leone than inGuinea. Aside from the human cost, the outbreak was severely eroding theeconomy. By September 2014, with the closure of borders, the cancellation ofairline flights, the evacuation of foreign workers and a collapse ofcross-border trade, the national deficit of Sierra Leone and other affectedcountries was widening to the point where the IMF was considering expanding itsfinancial support.^[245]

Culture

[edit]

Polygamy

[edit]

Furtherinformation: Polygamy in Sierra Leone

As of 2019,30% of women and 14% of men were in a polygamous unions in Sierra Leone."The percentage of women with one or more co-wives has decreased graduallyover time, from 37% in 2008 and 35% in 2013 to 30% in 2019."^[246]

Food andcustoms

[edit]

Furtherinformation: Sierra Leonean cuisine

Rice isthe staple food of Sierra Leone and is consumedat virtually every meal daily. The rice is prepared in numerous ways, andtopped with a variety of sauces made from some of Sierra Leone's favouritetoppings, including potato leaves, cassava leaves, crain crain, okra soup, fried fish and groundnut stew.^[247]

Along thestreets of towns and cities across Sierra Leone, one can find foods consistingof fruit, vegetables and snacks such as fresh mangoes, oranges, pineapple, fried plantains, ginger beer, fried potato, fried cassava withpepper sauce; small bags of popcorn or peanuts, bread, roasted corn, or skewersof grilled meat or shrimp.

Poyo is apopular Sierra Leonean drink. It is a sweet, lightly fermented palm wine,^[248] and is found in bars in townsand villages across the country. Poyo bars are areas of lively informal debateabout politics, football, basketball, entertainment and otherissues.

Media

[edit]

Mainarticle: Media of Sierra Leone

Media inSierra Leone began with the introduction of the first printing press in Africa at the start of the19th century. A strong free journalistic tradition developed with the creationof several newspapers. In the 1860s, the country became a journalist hub forAfrica, with professionals travelling to the country from across the continent.At the end of the 19th century, the industry went into decline, and when radiowas introduced in the 1930s, it became the primary communication media in thecountry.

The Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS) was created by thecolonial government in 1934 making it the earliest English language radiobroadcaster service in West Africa. The service began broadcasting televisionin 1963, with coverage extended to all the districts in the country in 1978. InApril 2010, the SLBS merged with the United Nations peacekeeping radio station inSierra Leone to form the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation,^[249][250] the government-owned currentnational broadcaster in Sierra Leone.

The SierraLeone constitution guarantees freedom of speech, and freedomof the press;however, the government maintains strong control of media, and at timesrestricts these rights in practice.^{[251][252][253][254][255][256]} Some subjects are seen as tabooby society and members of the political elite; imprisonment and violence havebeen used by the political establishment against journalists.^[257][258]

Underlegislation enacted in 1980, all newspapers must register with the Ministry ofInformation and pay sizeable registration fees. The Criminal Libel Law, including Seditious Libel Law of 1965, is used tocontrol what is published in the media.^[258]

In 2006,President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah committed to reforming the laws governing thepress and media to create a freer system for journalists to work in.^[258] As of 2013 Sierra Leone isranked 61st (up two slots from 63rd in 2012) out of 179 countries on ReportersWithout Borders' PressFreedom Index.^[259]

Print media is not widely read in SierraLeone, especially outside Freetown and other major cities, partially due to thelow levels of literacy in the country.^[260] In 2007 there were 15 dailynewspapers in the country, as well as those published weekly.^[261] Among newspaper readership,young people are likely to read newspapers weekly and older people daily. Themajority of newspapers are privately run and are often critical of thegovernment. The standard of print journalism tends to be low owing to lack oftraining, and people trust the information published in newspapers less thanthat found on the radio.^[260]

Radio is themost popular and most-trusted media in Sierra Leone, with 85% of people havingaccess to a radio and 72% of people in the country listening to the radiodaily.^[260] These levels do vary betweenareas of the country, with the Western Area having the highest levelsand Kailahun the lowest. Stations mainlyconsist of local commercial stations with a limited broadcast range, combinedwith a few stations with national coverage – Capital Radio Sierra Leone being the largest of the commercial stations.

The UnitedNations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) ran one of the most popular stationsin the country, broadcasting programs in a range of languages. The UN missionwas restructured in 2008 and it was decided that the UNRadio would bemerged with SLBS to form the new Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC).This merger eventually happened in 2011 after the necessary legislation wasenacted. SLBC transmits radio on FM and has two television services, one of which isuplinked by satellite for international consumption. FM relays of the BBC World Service (in Freetown, Bo, Kenema andMakeni), Radio France Internationale (Freetown only) and Voice of America (Freetown only) are alsobroadcast.

Outside thecapital Freetown and other major cities, television is not watched by a greatmany people, although Bo, Kenema and Makeni are served by their own relays ofthe main SLBC service. There are three free terrestrial television stations inSierra Leone, one run by the government SLBC and the other two are privatestations in Freetown, Star TV which is run by the owner of the Standard-Times newspaperand AYV – Africa Young Voices. Several religious funded TV stations operateintermittently. Two other commercial TV operators (ABC and AIT) closed afterthey were not profitable. In 2007, a pay-per-view service was also introducedby GTV as part of a pan-African television service in addition to thenine-year-old sub-Saharan Digital satellite television service (DStv)originating from Multichoice Africa in South Africa. GTV subsequently went outof business, leaving DStv as the only provider of subscription satellitetelevision in the country. Several organisations planned to operate digitalterrestrial subscription TV services, with Multichoice's Go TV having builtinfrastructure ahead of getting a licence and ultimately failing to get alicence. ITV and SATCON are currently operational.

Internetaccess in Sierra Leone has been sparse but is on the increase, especially sincethe introduction of 3G/4G cellular phone services across the country. There areseveral main internet service providers (ISPs) operating in the country. Freetown has internet cafés and other businesses offeringinternet access. Problems experienced with access to the Internet include anintermittent electricity supply and a slow connection speed in the countryoutside Freetown.

Arts

[edit]

Furtherinformation: Artin Sierra Leone and Music of Sierra Leone

The arts inSierra Leone are a mixture of tradition and hybrid African and western styles.^{[262][263][264]}

Sports

[edit]

Mainarticle: Sport in Sierra Leone

Associationfootball is byfar the most popular sport in Sierra Leone. Children, youth and adult arefrequently seen playing street football across Sierra Leone. There areorganised youth and adult football tournaments across the country, and thereare various primary and secondary schools with football teams across SierraLeone.

The SierraLeone national football team, popularly known as the Leone Stars, represents the country ininternational competitions. It has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup but participated in the 1994 and 1996 African Cup of Nations. When the national football team, the Leone Stars, have amatch, Sierra Leoneans across the country come together united in support ofthe national team and people rush to their local radio and television stationsto follow the live match. The country's national television network, The SierraLeone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) broadcasts the national football teamlive match, along with many local radio stations across the country.

When theLeone Stars win an important match, many youth across the county rush to thestreet to celebrate. Many of the Sierra Leone national team footballers playfor teams based in Europe although virtually all of them started professionalfootball in the Sierra Leone National Premier League. Many of the national teamfootballers are celebrities across Sierra Leone and they are often well knownby the general population. Some of Sierra Leonean international footballersinclude MohamedKallon, Mohamed Bangura, Rodney Strasser, Kei Kamara, IbrahimTeteh Bangura, Mustapha Dumbuya, Christian Caulker, Alhassan Bangura, Sheriff Suma, Osman Kakay, Mohamed Kamara, Umaru Bangura and Julius Gibrilla Woobay.

The Sierra Leone National Premier League is the top professionalfootball league in Sierra Leone and is controlled by the Sierra Leone Football Association. Fourteen clubs from across thecountry compete in the Sierra Leone Premier League. The two biggest and mostsuccessful football clubs are East End Lions and Mighty Blackpool. East End Lions and Mighty Blackpoolhave an intense rivalry and when they play each other the national stadium inFreetown is often sold out and supporters of both clubs often clash with eachother before and after the game. There is a huge police presence inside andoutside the national stadium during a match between the two great rivals toprevent a clash. Many Sierra Leonean youth follow the local football league.

Many SierraLeonean youth, children and adults follow the major football leagues in Europe,particularly the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga and French Ligue 1.

The Sierra Leone cricket team represents Sierra Leone in international cricketcompetitions and is among the best in West Africa. It became an affiliatemember of the International Cricket Council in 2002. It made its international debut at the 2004African Affiliates Championship, where it finished last of eight teams. But atthe equivalent tournament in 2006, Division Three of the African region of theWorld Cricket League, it finished as runner-up to Mozambique, and just missed promotion toDivision Two.

In 2009, theSierra Leone Under-19 team finished second in the African Under-19 Championshipin Zambia, thus qualifying for the Under-19 World Cup qualifying tournamentwith nine other teams.^[265] However, the team was unable toobtain Canadian visas to play in the tournament, which was held in Toronto.^[266]

Sierra Leoneis the first African country to join the International Floorball Federation.

Tourism

[edit]

Mainarticle: Tourism in Sierra Leone

SierraLeone's Freetown is a favourite destination for tourists. Although the sectorwas seriously affected during the Civil War, there has been a steadyimprovement in recent years.^[267] There is a vast expanse ofbeaches stretching along the Freetown Peninsula. The Lumley-Aberdeen beachstretches all the way from Cape Sierra Leone down to Lumley. There are alsoother popular beaches like the world renowned River Number 2 Beach, Laka Beach,Tokeh Beach, Bureh Beach, and Mama Beach. The Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary,which is located within the peninsula's vast rainforest reserve, just a fewkilometres from the centre of Freetown, has a collection of rare and endangeredchimpanzees. Other popular destinations for tourists include the FreetownCotton Tree, located in Central Freetown, a significant national monument andintegral to the founding of the city; Bunce Island, which is a boat ride fromthe city, is home to the ruins of the slave fortress that was being used duringthe Transatlantic slave trade; the Sierra Leone Museum, which has a collectionof both precolonial as well as colonial artifacts and other items of historicalsignificance; the National Railway Museum; or take a journey around the city'scoastline with the popular Sea Coach Express. The Aberdenn-Lumley area is afavourite destination for those venturing into the city's nightlife.