AfricaSierra LeoneEastern Province
Kenema
Eastern Province, Sierra Leone · Africa
About Kenema
Kenema sits on the route: 15 minutes from Hangha.
Kenema is in Eastern Province, Sierra Leone, with about 260,000 people. The nearest town is Hangha, about 9 km away.
Kenema is a city in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone and the administrative capital of Kenema District. With a population of 255,110 recorded in the 2021 mid-term Population and Housing Census, it is the second most populous city in Sierra Leone, after the national capital Freetown. The city lies at approximatelyRead more
173 metres above sea level within a valley at a natural gap in the Kambui Hills, at coordinates 7°52′N 11°11′W.
Kenema is the principal commercial and administrative hub of eastern Sierra Leone, serving as the regional centre for trade, banking, public services, and transport linking the interior to cross-border markets with Liberia. It is the seat of Kenema District Council and one of Sierra Leone's six designated municipalities, governed by an elected city council and a directly elected mayor.
Kenema's modern growth is rooted in the colonial period, when its position on the Sierra Leone Government Railway made it a collection point for timber, palm produce, cocoa, and coffee destined for export through Freetown. The discovery of alluvial diamonds in 1931 deepened the city's integration into Sierra Leone's extractive economy, and the Government Diamond Office, established in 1959, continues to coordinate the valuation and certification of diamonds from the Eastern Province. During the Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002), Kenema's proximity to the diamond fields of Kono District and Kailahun District made it a recurring theatre of conflict between the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), the Civil Defence Forces (CDF), and government troops.
Kenema Government Hospital occupies a distinctive position in global public health history. It operates one of the few dedicated Lassa fever treatment and research units in the world, and it was at this institution that Sierra Leone's first confirmed case of Ebola virus disease was diagnosed on 25 May 2014, at the onset of the West African Ebola epidemic.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Kenema?
Kenema is in Eastern Province, Sierra Leone, about 9 km from Hangha.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 255,110
- Continent
- Africa
- Country
- Sierra Leone
- Region
- Eastern Province
- Timezone
- Africa/Freetown
- Coordinates
- 7.8769, -11.1903
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When to drive here
Year-round
Tropical latitude: plan around the wet season rather than temperature.
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