Kenema

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.