Kabala, Sierra Leone
{{More citations needed|date=March 2012}}{{Infobox settlement
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|subdivision_name1 = Northern Province
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|subdivision_name2 = Koinadugu District
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Image:CIASierraLeoneKabala.jpg
Kabala (Pular : 𞤑𞤢𞤦𞤢𞤤𞤢) is the capital and largest town of Koinadugu District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Kabala is one of the main towns in Northern Sierra Leone and is set in a rural landscape, surrounded by mountains.{{Cite web |url=http://livewire.amnesty.org/2009/09/29/rain-doesnt-deter-people-in-mountainous-kabala/ |title=Rain doesn't deter people in mountainous Kabala | Amnesty's global human rights blog |access-date=2012-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811074021/http://livewire.amnesty.org/2009/09/29/rain-doesnt-deter-people-in-mountainous-kabala/ |archive-date=2014-08-11 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.eenet.org.uk/resources/eenet_newsletter/news14/page9.php |title=Newsletter No. 14 - Community involvement in school water projects: Experience from post-conflict Sierra Leone - EENET |website=www.eenet.org.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416191647/http://www.eenet.org.uk/resources/eenet_newsletter/news14/page9.php |archive-date=2014-04-16}}
Kabala lies approximately {{convert|85|mi|km}} north-east of Makeni, the largest city in the north, and approximately {{convert|200|mi|km}}{{cite web |url=http://www.eenet.org.uk/resources/eenet_newsletter/news14/page9.php |title=Newsletter No. 14 - Community involvement in school water projects: Experience from post-conflict Sierra Leone - EENET |website=www.eenet.org.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416191647/http://www.eenet.org.uk/resources/eenet_newsletter/news14/page9.php |archive-date=2014-04-16}} east of the capital Freetown.
Kabala had a population of 14,108 in the 2004 census,{{Citation | last1 =Sesay | first1 =Ibrahim Mohamed | last2 =Karama | first2 =Andrew A.| last3 =Ngobeh | first3 = Jinnah J. | publication-date =November 2006 | title =2004 Population and Housing Census:Analytical Report on Population Distribution, Migration and Urbanisation in Sierra Leone | publisher =Statistics Sierra Leone | place = Sierra Leone | page=73|url=http://www.statistics.sl/2004%20Census%20Report%20on%20Population%20Distribution%20Migration%20and%20Urbanisation.pdf | access-date =2008-07-25}} and a current estimate of 18,770 [http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gpro&lng=en&des=wg&geo=-6641&srt=npan&col=adhoq&msz=1500&pt=c&va=&geo=358504845]{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
The population of Kabala is predominantly Muslim, though there is a substantial Christian minority.
Kabala is an agricultural centre and lies on the far north of Sierra Leone, with close proximity to Kono District and the international border with Guinea . Kabala is one of the largest towns in Sierra Leone in total land area; but is less densely populated.
Kabala is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in Sierra Leone, with no single ethnic group forming a majority. Like the rest of Koinadugu District, the inhabitants of Kabala are largely from the Kuranko, Mandingo, Yalunka, Limba and Fula ethnic groups. As with most parts of Sierra Leone, the Krio language of the Sierra Leone Creole people is the most widely spoken language in Kabala.{{cite web |url=http://www.language9.com/languages/translation/krio-translation.html |title=Krio Translation Services |publisher=Language9.com |access-date=20 May 2012 |archive-date=13 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113120341/http://www.language9.com/languages/translation/krio-translation.html |url-status=dead }}{{Cite book |last1 = Oyètádé |first1 = B. Akíntúndé |last2 = Fashole-Luke |first2 = Victor|title = Language and National Identity in Africa |place = Oxford |publisher = Oxford University Press |chapter = Sierra Leone: Krio and the Quest for National Integration |pages = 122–140 |chapter-url = https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/181|date = 15 February 2008 |isbn = 978-0-19-928675-1 }}
Sierra Leone's former president Ernest Bai Koroma celebrated the 2012 New Year in Kabala.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nazarethhouseap.org/2012/01/01/president-koroma-greets-2012-in-prayer-at-kabala/|title=President Koroma greets 2012 in prayer at Kabala | Nazareth House Apostolate}} President Koroma held a townhall meeting at the Yogomaia Field in Kabala and attended new year church services at the Holy Martyrs Catholic Church in the town.{{Cite web|url=http://www.statehouse.gov.sl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=458:koinadugu-goes-apc&catid=34:news-articles|title = Sierra Leone State House – the Republic of Sierra Leone State House}}
History
After the Anglo-Franco settlement of 1895, the British colonial administration post was moved from Falaba to Kabala, then an insignificant village not shown on the detailed maps of the British.
Kabala is a place name in the Limba and Fula languages literally meaning 'at Bala' or 'Bala's place.' Both languages utilizes the prefix 'ka-' as a place identifier. Postmarks on King George VI postage stamps use the spelling Kaballa.
The town incorporates two chiefdom centers: Gbawuria the center for the Limba chiefdom of Wara Wara Yagala and Yogomaia the center for the Koranko chiefdom of Sengbe. With respect to native governance, Kabala is split between the Limba and Koranko Paramount Chiefs. Kabala grew rapidly under British rule. Traders and merchants were attracted to this colonial administrative town from the 1930s, and, after 1947, shop premises were opened by Lebanese traders.
File:All People's Congress political rally Sierra Leone 1968.jpg
In 2000 the United Nations reported that, after the Civil War, "Kabala, in the north, life appears to be returning to normal following fighting". In 2002 newspapers reported a visit to the town by "Bangladesh's visiting foreign minister", suggesting that the town had sufficiently recovered for it to be shown to important overseas visitors.
Climate
{{Weather box
|location = Kabala, Sierra Leone (1961-1990 normals)
|metric first = y
|single line = y
|Jan high C = 32.7
|Feb high C = 34.8
|Mar high C = 35.0
|Apr high C = 33.4
|May high C = 31.5
|Jun high C = 29.6
|Jul high C = 28.0
|Aug high C = 27.7
|Sep high C = 28.8
|Oct high C = 30.2
|Nov high C = 31.1
|Dec high C = 31.4
|year high C =
|Jan mean C = 24.8
|Feb mean C = 27.0
|Mar mean C = 27.8
|Apr mean C = 27.3
|May mean C = 26.2
|Jun mean C = 24.8
|Jul mean C = 23.8
|Aug mean C = 23.9
|Sep mean C = 23.9
|Oct mean C = 24.4
|Nov mean C = 24.7
|Dec mean C = 23.6
|year mean C =
|Jan low C = 16.7
|Feb low C = 19.2
|Mar low C = 21.0
|Apr low C = 21.2
|May low C = 21.5
|Jun low C = 20.9
|Jul low C = 20.7
|Aug low C = 20.7
|Sep low C = 20.5
|Oct low C = 20.3
|Nov low C = 19.5
|Dec low C = 16.4
|year low C =
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 3.9
|Feb precipitation mm = 8.9
|Mar precipitation mm = 30.4
|Apr precipitation mm = 97.2
|May precipitation mm = 192.9
|Jun precipitation mm = 284.8
|Jul precipitation mm = 319.4
|Aug precipitation mm = 386.8
|Sep precipitation mm = 383.3
|Oct precipitation mm = 291.4
|Nov precipitation mm = 73.7
|Dec precipitation mm = 4.7
|year precipitation mm =
|unit rain days =
|Jan rain days = 0
|Feb rain days = 1
|Mar rain days = 2
|Apr rain days = 7
|May rain days = 14
|Jun rain days = 19
|Jul rain days = 24
|Aug rain days = 27
|Sep rain days = 24
|Oct rain days = 21
|Nov rain days = 6
|Dec rain days = 1
|year rain days =
|Jan sun = 241.8
|Feb sun = 226.8
|Mar sun = 244.9
|Apr sun = 219.0
|May sun = 207.7
|Jun sun = 168.0
|Jul sun = 136.4
|Aug sun = 114.7
|Sep sun = 147.0
|Oct sun = 192.2
|Nov sun = 210.0
|Dec sun = 226.3
|Jan percentsun = 68
|Feb percentsun = 69
|Mar percentsun = 66
|Apr percentsun = 60
|May percentsun = 54
|Jun percentsun = 45
|Jul percentsun = 35
|Aug percentsun = 30
|Sep percentsun = 41
|Oct percentsun = 53
|Nov percentsun = 61
|Dec percentsun = 64
|year percentsun = 53
|source 1 = NOAA{{cite web
| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/TABLES/REG__I/SL/61886.TXT
| title = Kabala Climate Normals 1961-1990
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| accessdate = January 17, 2023
}}
}}
Demography
Media
Bintumani 93.7 is the local radio station that serves Kabala and the rest of Koinadugu District. Sierra Leone's national radio and television station, SLBS, is on the air in the city, as well as the BBC World Service, CNN International, and several other private stations are on the air for those who have satellite.
Education
There are government-recognised secondary schools, all of which have religious affiliations. There is a new Islamic school, the Kabala Islamic Secondary School, which is as yet unrecognised.
Kabala Secondary School is the biggest and oldest secondary school. It was founded by Catholic missionaries.
Sport
Like the rest of Sierra Leone, football is by far the most popular sport in Kabala. The city's major football team is the Bintumani Scorpions. The club currently plays in the Sierra Leone Nationwide First Division, the second highest football league in Sierra Leone, and the second biggest football club within the township is the TAG family football club.
Industries and infrastructure
The town is known for its cloth and tailoring, and especially for the making of the "ronko" gown, a traditional Limba and Koranko war shirt which is believed to have supernatural powers.
There is no electricity other than individual generators.
There are medical facilities, the government hospital and two clinics.
There are a number of traditional circular hut settlements on the outskirts, but mostly the buildings are single-story tin and brick.
The surrounding landscape is agriculturally rich, and there is seasonal rice-planting. Vegetables, such as tomatoes, green beans and cabbage, and fruits, such as mangoes and bananas, are also grown in Kabala.
There is an 80-mile bus service from Makeni, but the surfaced highway peters out some {{convert|25|mi|km}} from Kabala and forms a winding dirt track.
There is a central business district and roofed market, with large well-stocked Lebanese-run stores. The market serves as an unofficial social centre as well as a trading centre. Kabala Community Bank houses a branch of the Western Union.
Leisure
There is a cinema, a night club and multiple venues that screen football matches. There are also a few restaurants that serve various rice-based dishes. There is a traditional New Year's Day picnic on Gbawuria Hill to the west of the town, which attracts people from around the country.{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}
References
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{{Commons category|Kabala}}
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{{Coord|9|35|N|11|33|W|region:SL_type:city|display=title}}