--- title: Freetown — English Wikipedia · full text with trees · page 2 description: Wikipedia's «Freetown», whole, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics, CC BY-SA 4.0. It begins: Freetown (Fritɔun) is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Freetown/page/2/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [wikipedia](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/) / [en](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/) / Freetown # Freetown · page 2 From Wikipedia, [«Freetown»](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freetown), revision of the 2026-09-01 dump, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). The trees and pragmatics of these pages, Mova's parse of that text, are CC BY-SA 4.0 too. [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Freetown/) **2** [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Freetown/page/3/) In the 1890s, ethnic tension flared between [Lebanese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanese_people) residents and traders and the various native ethnicities of Sierra Leone, which led to Lebanese shops being destroyed in cities[\[11\]](../../page/3/#ref-11 "note 11") including Freetown.[82](../../82/ "tree and pragmatics") During World War I Freetown became a base for operations of British forces in the Atlantic.[83](../../83/ "tree and pragmatics") Warships came into the port to resupply and German merchant vessels captured in the region were also sent there.[\[22\]](../../page/3/#ref-22 "note 22")[84](../../84/ "tree and pragmatics") During [World War II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II), Britain maintained a naval base at Freetown.[85](../../85/ "tree and pragmatics") The base was a staging post for [Allied](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_II) traffic in the South Atlantic and the assembly point for [SL convoys](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SL_convoys) to Britain.[86](../../86/ "tree and pragmatics") An [RAF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF) base was maintained at nearby [Lungi airfield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lungi_International_Airport).[87](../../87/ "tree and pragmatics") British fighter aircraft which were shipped into Freetown port, were carried on the [Sierra Leone Government Railway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Government_Railway) to Makeni to be assembled and flown to Egypt.[88](../../88/ "tree and pragmatics") ### Civil war, 1990s to early 2000s Main article: [Siege of Freetown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Freetown) The city was the scene of fierce fighting in the late 1990s during the [Sierra Leone Civil War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Civil_War).[89](../../89/ "tree and pragmatics") It was captured by [ECOWAS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Community_of_West_African_States) troops seeking to restore President [Ahmad Tejan Kabbah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_Tejan_Kabbah) in 1998.[90](../../90/ "tree and pragmatics") Later it was unsuccessfully attacked by rebels of the [Revolutionary United Front](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_United_Front).[91](../../91/ "tree and pragmatics") ### Mudslide disaster, 2017 Main article: [2017 Sierra Leone mudslides](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Sierra_Leone_mudslides) In the early morning on 14 August 2017, after much heavy rain, part of Mount Sugar Loaf on an edge of Freetown collapsed in a huge mudslide which drowned over 300 people in Regent town.[92](../../92/ "tree and pragmatics") [Deforestation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation) has been blamed for the landslide.[\[23\]](../../page/3/#ref-23 "note 23")[\[24\]](../../page/3/#ref-24 "note 24")[\[25\]](../../page/3/#ref-25 "note 25")[93](../../93/ "tree and pragmatics") ### Sierra Leone fuel tanker explosion, 2021 Main article: [2021 Sierra Leone fuel tanker explosion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Sierra_Leone_fuel_tanker_explosion) On 5 November 2021, a fuel tank truck collided with another truck in Freetown, resulting in an explosion killing at least 99 and injuring around 100.[94](../../94/ "tree and pragmatics") ## Geography Freetown borders the Atlantic Ocean and the [Western Area Rural District](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Area_Rural_District).[95](../../95/ "tree and pragmatics") Freetown municipality is politically divided into three regions: East End, Central and West End of Freetown.[96](../../96/ "tree and pragmatics") The wards in the East End of Freetown (East I, East II, and East III) contain the city's largest population centre and generally the poorest part of the city.[97](../../97/ "tree and pragmatics") The [Queen Elizabeth II Quay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_II_Quay) is located within East End.[98](../../98/ "tree and pragmatics") The [Lion Mountains](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_Mountains) sit southeast to Freetown.[99](../../99/ "tree and pragmatics") The two central wards (Central I and Central II) make up Central Freetown, which includes Downtown Freetown and the central business district (Central II).[100](../../100/ "tree and pragmatics") Most of the tallest and most important national government building and foreign embassies are based in Central Freetown.[101](../../101/ "tree and pragmatics") Sierra Leone's [House of Parliament](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_House_of_Parliament) and the [State House](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_House_%28Sierra_Leone%29), the principal workplace of the [president of Sierra Leone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Sierra_Leone), are on [Tower Hill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Hill_%28Sierra_Leone%29) in central Freetown.[102](../../102/ "tree and pragmatics") The [National Stadium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Stadium_%28Sierra_Leone%29), the home stadium of the [Sierra Leone national football team](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_national_football_team) (popularly known as the [Leone Stars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leone_Stars)) is in the Brookfield neighborhood.[103](../../103/ "tree and pragmatics") The three westernmost wards (West I, West II, and West III) of the city constitute the West End of Freetown.[104](../../104/ "tree and pragmatics") These wards are relatively affluent.[105](../../105/ "tree and pragmatics") Most of the city's luxury hotels, a number of casinos, and Lumley Beach are in the west end of the city.[106](../../106/ "tree and pragmatics") The West End neighbourhood of Hill Station is home to the [State Lodge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Lodge), the official residence of the president of Sierra Leone.[107](../../107/ "tree and pragmatics") ## Climate Like the rest of Sierra Leone, Freetown has a [tropical climate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_climate) with a [rainy season](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainy_season) from May through November; the balance of the year represents the [dry season](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_season).[108](../../108/ "tree and pragmatics") The beginning and end of the rainy season is marked by strong [thunderstorms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderstorms).[109](../../109/ "tree and pragmatics") Under the [Köppen climate classification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Köppen_climate_classification), Freetown has a [tropical monsoon climate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_monsoon_climate) (Am) primarily due to the heavy amount of precipitation it receives during the rainy season.[110](../../110/ "tree and pragmatics") Freetown's high [humidity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humidity) is somewhat relieved December through February by the [Harmattan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmattan), a wind blowing from the [Sahara Desert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahara_Desert), affording Freetown its coolest period of the year.[111](../../111/ "tree and pragmatics") Temperature extremes recorded in Freetown are from 15 C to 38 C all year.[112](../../112/ "tree and pragmatics") The average annual temperature is around 28 C.[113](../../113/ "tree and pragmatics") In 2021, the city appointed its first heat officer, [Eugenia Kargbo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenia_Kargbo), to address the impact of rising temperatures in the city.[\[26\]](../../page/3/#ref-26 "note 26")[114](../../114/ "tree and pragmatics") ## Demographics Further information: [Religion in Sierra Leone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Sierra_Leone), [Languages of Sierra Leone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Sierra_Leone) Freetown is home to a large population of both Muslims and Christians, though Muslims make up the majority of the population.[115](../../115/ "tree and pragmatics") In the youth populations of both faiths can be found a significant [liberal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressivism) influence.[116](../../116/ "tree and pragmatics") Like the rest of Sierra Leone, Freetown is a religiously tolerant city, with Muslims and Christians living side by side peacefully.[117](../../117/ "tree and pragmatics") As in many parts of Sierra Leone, the [Krio language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krio_language) (the English-based creole language of the [Sierra Leone Creole people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Creole_people) who make up 5% of the country's population) is by far the most widely spoken language in the city.[118](../../118/ "tree and pragmatics") The language is spoken at home as a [first language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_language) by over 20% of the city's population and is spoken as a [lingua franca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingua_franca) by a large number of the population in the city.[119](../../119/ "tree and pragmatics") English (the country's official language) is also widely spoken, particularly by the well-educated.[120](../../120/ "tree and pragmatics") [Themne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temne_language) is the second most spoken language in Freetown after Krio.[121](../../121/ "tree and pragmatics") The [Themne people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temne_people) also make up the largest members of the population of Freetown and the Western Area Region.[122](../../122/ "tree and pragmatics") ## Government The city of Freetown is one of Sierra Leone's six municipalities and is governed by a [directly elected](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directly_elected) [city council](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_council), headed by a mayor, in whom [executive authority](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_authority) is vested.[123](../../123/ "tree and pragmatics") The current mayor is [Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yvonne_Aki-Sawyerr).[124](../../124/ "tree and pragmatics") The mayor is responsible for the general management of the city.[125](../../125/ "tree and pragmatics") The mayor and members of the Freetown City Council are elected directly by the residents of Freetown every four years.[126](../../126/ "tree and pragmatics") The government of the Freetown Municipality has been dominated by [All People's Congress](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_People%27s_Congress) (APC) since 2004.[127](../../127/ "tree and pragmatics") Since 2004, the residents of Freetown have voted in municipal elections for members of the All People's Congress (APC) by an overwhelming majority.[128](../../128/ "tree and pragmatics") The APC won the city's mayorship and vast majority seats in the Freetown city council in the 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2018 local elections by more than 67% each.[129](../../129/ "tree and pragmatics") In Presidential elections Freetown is considered a swing city, as it has a large support base of both the All People's Congress and the [Sierra Leone People's Party](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_People%27s_Party).[130](../../130/ "tree and pragmatics") However, the APC has won majority percent of the votes in Freetown in the 2007, 2012 and 2018 Sierra Leone Presidential election, including The APC winning more than 65% of the votes in Freetown in both The 2012 and 2018 Sierra Leone Presidential elections.[131](../../131/ "tree and pragmatics") The APC presidential candidate [Ernest Bai Koroma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Bai_Koroma) received 69% of the votes in Freetown in the 2012 Sierra Leone Presidential election; compared to the SLPP presidential candidate [Julius Maada Bio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Maada_Bio) who received 30%.[132](../../132/ "tree and pragmatics") In the 2018 Sierra Leone Presidential election, The APC presidential candidate [Samura Kamara](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samura_Kamara) received 65% compared to the SLPP presidential candidate Julius Maada Bio who received 34%, though Maada Bio won the presidential election nationally.[133](../../133/ "tree and pragmatics") In November 2011, Freetown Mayor [Herbert George-Williams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_George-Williams) was removed from office and replaced by council member Alhaji Gibril Kanu as acting mayor.[134](../../134/ "tree and pragmatics") Mayor Herbert George-Williams and eight others, including the Chief Administrator of the Freetown city council Bowenson Fredrick Philips; and the Freetown city council Treasurer Sylvester Momoh Konnehi, were arrested and indicted by the [Sierra Leone Anti-corruption Commission](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Anti-corruption_Commission) on twenty-five counts on [graft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graft_%28politics%29) charges, ranging from [conspiracy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_%28crime%29) to commit corruption to misappropriation of [public funds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_funds).[\[27\]](../../page/3/#ref-27 "note 27")[135](../../135/ "tree and pragmatics") Mayor [Herbert George-Williams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_George-Williams) was acquitted of seventeen of the nineteen charges against him.[136](../../136/ "tree and pragmatics") He was convicted of two less serious charges by the Freetown [High Court](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Court) judge Jon Bosco Katutsi and sentenced to pay a [fine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fine_%28penalty%29).[\[28\]](../../page/3/#ref-28 "note 28")[\[29\]](../../page/3/#ref-29 "note 29")[137](../../137/ "tree and pragmatics") Acting Mayor Kanu lost the APC nomination for the mayor of Freetown in the 2012 Mayoral elections by 56 votes; council member Sam Franklyn Bode Gibson won 106 in a landslide victory.[\[30\]](../../page/3/#ref-30 "note 30")[\[31\]](../../page/3/#ref-31 "note 31")[138](../../138/ "tree and pragmatics") In the national presidential and parliamentary elections, Freetown is similar to [swing states](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_states) in [American politics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_politics).[139](../../139/ "tree and pragmatics") As the city is so [ethnically](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnically) diverse, no single ethnic group forms a majority of the population of the city.[140](../../140/ "tree and pragmatics") Historically, the APC and the SLPP, two of the country's major political parties, have had about equal support in the city.[141](../../141/ "tree and pragmatics") In the 2007 Sierra Leone Presidential election, the APC candidate and then main opposition leader, [Ernest Bai Koroma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Bai_Koroma), won just over 60% of the votes in the [Western Area Urban District](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Area_Urban_District), including the city of Freetown, where almost the entire District population reside.[142](../../142/ "tree and pragmatics") ## Culture The city has the [Sierra Leone National Museum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_National_Museum) and [Sierra Leone National Railway Museum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_National_Railway_Museum).[143](../../143/ "tree and pragmatics") There are also various historical landmarks connected to its founding by [African Americans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans), [Liberated Africans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberated_African), and [Afro-Caribbeans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Caribbean) whose descendants are the [Sierra Leone Creole](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Creole) people.[\[32\]](../../page/3/#ref-32 "note 32")[\[33\]](../../page/3/#ref-33 "note 33")[\[34\]](../../page/3/#ref-34 "note 34")[\[35\]](../../page/3/#ref-35 "note 35")[144](../../144/ "tree and pragmatics") The Cotton Tree represents the christening of Freetown in March 1792.[145](../../145/ "tree and pragmatics") In downtown Freetown is the [Connaught Hospital](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connaught_Hospital), the first hospital constructed in West Africa that incorporated Western medical practices.[146](../../146/ "tree and pragmatics") Freetown has a long-held tradition of organized cultural events taking place on specific dates to coincide with specific holidays or seasons within the calendar year.[147](../../147/ "tree and pragmatics") One such event is the Eastern Paddle Hunting Society's annual exhibition of a highly sophisticated masquerade, consisting of a costume built, in a fashionable sense, of various materials available: leather, sequins, sea shells, traditional cloths, etc. The masquerade, known as "Paddle", strategically takes to the streets of the eastern and central parts of the city, followed by members of the Eastern Paddle Hunting Society, traditional musical bands and a crowd of supporters.[148](../../148/ "tree and pragmatics") For years this event coincided with the Muslim holiday of [Eid al-Adha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_al-Adha) until recently, as critics said such an event should not be held on the same day as Muslims celebrate Eid, as Islam is against the practices of secret societies and masquerades.[149](../../149/ "tree and pragmatics") The "Tangays" Festival is usually held in November, with a traditional theme that involves virtually every aspect of Sierra Leonean culture.[150](../../150/ "tree and pragmatics") It takes place at the National Stadium.[151](../../151/ "tree and pragmatics") Towards the end of the festival, a couple of musical concerts are usually held in the main bowl of the stadium, with performances from local and international musical artists (especially contemporary artists from Nigeria and other African countries or the African diaspora).[152](../../152/ "tree and pragmatics") [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Freetown/) **2** [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Freetown/page/3/) - ← previous: [page 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Freetown/) - next →: [page 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Freetown/page/3/) - ↑ back to [English Wikipedia](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/)