Koidu

Koidu town
Main street in Koidutown
Koidu town
Coordinates: 8°38′38″N 10°58′18″W / 8.6439°N 10.9717°W / 8.6439; -10.9717Coordinates: 8°38′38″N 10°58′18″W / 8.6439°N 10.9717°W / 8.6439; -10.9717
Country	Sierra Leone
Province	Eastern Province
District	Kono District
Government
• Type	City Council
• Mayor	Aiah Komba (APC)[1]
• Governing Body	Koidu–New Sembehun City Council
Population (2015 census)
• Total	128,074 [2]
Time zone	GMT

Koidu Town (also known commonly as Koidu , or Sefadu) is the capital and largest city of the diamond-rich Kono District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. The population of Koidu Town is [128,074[3] based on the 2015 Sierra Leone Census. Koidu Town is the fourth largest city in Sierra Leone by population, after Freetown, Bo and Kenema. The city is a major urban, business, commercial and diamond trade center. Koidu Town lies approximately 270 miles east of Freetown.

Two of the world’s ten largest and most famous rough diamonds were found in the Woyie River that flows through Koidu Town.

The city is officially known as Koidu–New Sembehun. The mayor of Koidu Town and members of the Koidu _ New Sembehun city council are directly elected every four years by the residents of Koidu Town.

Koidu Town is one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse cities in Sierra Leone. The city is inhabited by significant numbers of many of Sierra Leone's ethnic groups, with no single ethnic group forming a majority. Most of the foreign diamond workers in Kono District reside in the city. The Krio language is by far the most widely spoken language in Koidu Town and is the primary language of communication in the city.

Like the rest of Kono District, Koidu Town is politically considered a swing district (swing state in the United States) as it could go either in support of the Sierra Leone People's Party or the All People's Congress, Sierra Leone's two major political parties, in presidential, parliamentary, and local councils elections.