𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗟 = 𝗡𝗘𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗔 𝗞𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗨 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗧

Dr. Sylvia Olayinka Blyden OOR

Monday June 9th 2025 – I want to start this Op-Ed, about the need for an immediate creation of a Kissi Bendu District, with a Prayer for our people of Yenga & the greater Kissi Bendu area whose livelihoods have been set asunder – once again like during 2014 Ebola Outbreak – this time by an hitherto undetected Guinean invasion therein. Today, the Kissi people are again displaced; refugees in their homeland.
Recently, I shared a video of the dilapidated Koindu, the commercial center of Kissi Teng and a key part of Kissi Bendu, Eastern Province. I now share my thoughts for a Kissi Bendu District (and Local Council) to be created out of the current Kailahun District Council.

The new district, if approved, will be composed of the three Kissi Chiefdoms of Kissi Tongi, Kissi Teng and Kissi Kama PLUS the cultural Kissi areas of Luawa such as Nyandehun Mambabu, Mano Sewalu and Dodo Kortuma if consultations endorse for the latter three Luawa areas to be so added.

I am writing this paper in the first person – personally – as my examination of the issues with the aim of escalating them for debate. I am fully aware that only strong political will at the highest levels (the Presidency) can give the long-overdue Equity to that special area as required. This is my Case for Kissi Bendu.

𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:
The Kissi Bendu geographical area is situated in Eastern Province of Sierra Leone, adjacent to both Guinea and Liberia in a distinctive layout shaped like a horn. It is mostly inhabited by the indigenous Kissi tribe but also has a mix of other tribes who immigrated there and have been warmly welcomed to live with the Kissi tribe. Now, Kissi Bendu is not limited to only the chiefdoms bearing the prefix ‘Kissi’ but also includes parts of Luawa Chiefdom. Kissi Bendu holds immense tourism, cultural, economic, agricultural, and most importantly, strategic security potentials. Yet, decades of post-war governmental neglect have left the area underdeveloped and vulnerable. This policy brief written as an Op-Ed, advocates for the creation of a Kissi Bendu District to unlock and restore its full potentials whilst ensuring national security, protection of indigenous historical values and regional inclusion. The Kissi tribe of Sierra Leone is already facing existential risks due to severe marginalization and abysmal neglect; a state of affairs that had led to the 2014 Ebola outbreak ravaging and killing Kissi residents for over two continuous months – undetected. It has also led to the Guinean military foraging therein to build an expansive military barracks – undetected. This Paper submits that the solution to the glaring inequality is to create an indigenous Kissi Bendu District that will be cut out of the current Kailahun District. The Paper highlights unique potentials of Kissi Bendu and affirms that a local district council will improve resource allocation, donor partners’ engagement and administrative responsiveness. The current chiefdom-level governance is insufficient for such a complex and strategically important area so elevating the local governance to District status, will empower local Kissi leaders (plus long-time residents from other tribes) to participate in development planning and implementations.

𝗦𝗬𝗟𝗩𝗜𝗔 𝗕𝗟𝗬𝗗𝗘𝗡 (𝗮𝗸𝗮 𝗦𝗜𝗔 𝗞𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜)
My first visit to Kissi Bendu was in November 2011 (14 years ago) and it has been a non-stop 14 years relationship between me and the Kissi Bendu residents to an extent I fondly accepted to be christened as SIA KISSI. I don’t have to be born in Kissi Bendu to also see potentials that other national leaders like President Siaka Stevens and President Tejan Kabbah saw. Infact, we recently had a dear Kissi brother serving as our Foreign Minister but he did not do the needful. So being a Kissi is not a required criterion to speak for the Kissi people. I am very proud to be associated with Kissi Bendu and to speak for them.

Let us now look at Key Justifications for District Status

𝗞𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗨 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗧:
As I bonded with our Kissi people, it did not take me long to understand that the solution to rebuild Kissi Bendu back to its full potentials of days gone by, is simple – create a Kissi Bendu District that will be carved out of the current Kailahun District from the three Kissi chiefdoms and the parts of Luawa Chiefdom that are with the Kissi language and culture.

𝗞𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗨 𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗜𝗟:
Local Government Councils are to take local governance issues and hand it to the locals to govern themselves. Every district in Sierra Leone is a locality that should have its own local council. Sadly, the Kailahun Local Council to which Kissi Bendu is hitched, is detached in many ways from the Kissis’ local needs and this has led to serious setbacks for Kissi Bendu’s development. The examples of neglect and marginalization of that area, abounds in plentifolds.
So let us have Kissi Bendu District Local Council so the indigenes will then have greater autonomy in how hard cash allocated for their area’s development from the Central Government, gets to be spent. A stand-alone District will also be able to engage effectively and efficiently with Donors & other Partners to tap on the huge potentials of the locality. I know how hard Member of Parliaments like Hon. Lolloh Tongi, Hon. Gevao and most importantly, Hon. Fallah Tengbeh have tried to lobby Donors and other partners for Yenga & environs but they are not a part of the executive arm of the Government so it is futile. A District Council Chairman is automatically a part of the executive arm and legally empowered to directly engage Donors and Partners on behalf of that area – with the knowledge of the Local Government Minister.

𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥-𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬:
I have served as a member of Sierra Leone’s highest decision-making National Security body. During my tenure, I was the only woman, by then, appointed by the former president to sit on the National Security Council so I not only took a gender lens to the discussions but I used a critical non-ethnic and nationalistic eye to peruse all security issues. I have also enjoyed highest National Security clearance & access to several Top Secret and Classified national security documents for years. I have written and published news reports on national security issues extensively.
I affirm, with my aforementioned experience, that if the Kissi Bendu area is elevated into a stand-alone District, the parts of the national security architecture therein will immediately be elevated into the higher cadre that such a very strategic security locality deserves.

Let me explain some more.

𝗚𝗨𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗦 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗗:
To my mind, the reason why Guinean soldiers were able to move huge amounts of cement, iron rods, zinc roofing and building materials for many months, totally undetected by the Central Government of President Bio as the Guineans built an expansive barracks, is because the parts of the national security architecture inside Kissi Bendu is primordial and so it was too impotent to flag the Guinean forage up to appropriate levels of the National Security.

𝗞𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗨 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗖:
Having the Kissi Bendu District created, will simultaneously create a Kissi Bendu DISEC (District Security Committee) to automatically sit at level of Eastern PROSEC (Provincial Security Committee) and when needed, to sit even on National Security meetings at State House or the Office of National Security, Tower Hill. The importance of a Kissi Bendu DISEC for such an extremely strategic security location next to both Guinea & Liberia, is overarching.
A Kissi Bendu district will ensure that utterly strategic locality will no longer be hampered by an impotent Chiefdom security architecture that cannot wave the red flag of danger in a noticeable manner that can draw the attention of our Central Government in Freetown.
The main reason why Guineans spent several months building such an expansive barracks in an important location; undetected by Freetown, is because we don’t have a Kissi Bendu DISEC.

𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗦:
Having discussed Strategic security, let us look at financial and economic issues. There was a time (before civil war broke out in the Mano River Union) when the Customs post in Kissi Teng was Sierra Leone’s second highest revenue generating entity, second only to Queen Elizabeth Water Quay in Freetown. Oh YES! The records are there. That was the time of the famous Koindu International Market where Liberians, Guineans and even Ivorian, Upper Volta (Burkina Faso) and Malian citizens traveled to shop there. Koindu as seen on the West Africa map is a strategic economic point. This should be harnessed once again to aid revenue generation.

𝗔𝗚𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗦:
The soil is so rich and fertile that there was a time when Sierra Leone families became multi-millionaires when they did international trading of agricultural produce grown in Kissi Bendu. A famous family at Brookfields, Freetown is one classic example. The vitamins and nutrients in the organic food is said to be the reason why Kissi males are not only handsome but are tall, muscular and of healthy warrior breed. As warriors over several generations, they have courted some of the most beautiful women who have been fertile and healthy. Many generations of such women have produced healthy babies due to Kissi soil being rich with nutrients and vitamins. However, poor road networks especially local feeder roads that are no longer motorable since the war years, make it difficult for the produce to reach markets. A Kissi Bendu district council has a better chance of improving the roads and ensuring such nutrient rich food is exported safely to serve other parts of Sierra Leone. The more people eating nutritious Kissi Bendu food, the healthier will Sierra Leone become. Infact, in decades gone by, Kissi Bendu was considered as one of the key breadbaskets of Sierra Leone.

𝗪𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗛 𝗣𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗟𝗦:
The potentials of Kissi Bendu is easily seen if you just stroll through the war damaged streets and see the kinds of MANSIONS that are now abandoned with trees growing out of what were splendid marble tiled ballrooms. Yes, just go to Koindu to see wonders of how nature took over architectural splendour. Even Freetown does not have the kinds of fantastic mansions that were built out of agricultural and other wealth of Kissi Teng, decades ago.

𝗔𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗨𝗜𝗦𝗛:
However, despite all the strategic potentials of that awe inspiring beautiful land, Kissi Bendu has been left to languish as shown in the recently shared video of Koindu. This is because of historic injustices by not just this regime but successive Governments who are so insensitive towards these parts and too shortsighted to understand the burning issues that demand their attentions.

𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗘𝗥 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦:
President Siaka Stevens saw the rich potentials of Kissi Bendu area and he encouraged the area to grow and become developed. I also give credit to late President Tejan Kabbah as possibly the only post-War Sierra Leone leader so far who truly understood the importance of Kissi Bendu to not only the Kissi people but to Sierra Leoneans as a whole. When you read Kabbah’s Handing-Over Notes of September 2007, you see his high intellectual understanding of the issues of Kissi Bendu. He was a visionary.

Let us now look at other points that help make the case.

𝗞𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜 𝗖𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘 & 𝗧𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗠:
There is tremendous Tourism potentials of that area due to the cultural factors that are globally recognized about the Kissi people. According to Kissi writer, Tamba Momoh Amara, prior to the advent of Colonial rule of Sierra Leone, the Kissi people lived in well-defined, advanced communities. They made their own clothes, the Kissi Cotton Cloth, at a time other communities were wearing animal skins. They produced their own Kissi Black Soap (aka “sema-ma Kissian”) containing skin purifying ingredients. Kissis enjoy rich, vibrant culture rooted in history, oral tradition, ritual practices, agricultural life and a form of community governance that keeps them bonded. Kissi people known to be hard-working, honest, loyal and so ingenious that even the British colonialists took note of that.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗞𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜 𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗬:
Whilst others were still engaging in ‘barter trading’, the Kissi had created their own money, the Kissi Penny which was a traditional iron currency used historically by the Kissi people and which they also offered to neighboring ethnic groups. The Kissi Penny is found in many of the world’s most famous museums including Smithsonian in Washington DC, Glasgow in Scotland, British Museum in London and other museums in France, Germany as well as in highly valued private collections globally.
The Kissi Penny is celebrated globally. It was built as a long, thin iron rod (typically 9–15 inches long) with a T-shaped or spade-like end (the “blade”) on one side and a curled or looped end (the “ear”) on the other. It was called “money with a soul” because if broken, it was considered spiritually or economically useless unless ritually repaired by a blacksmith. The fascinating heritage is one of the most unique cultural symbols of the Kissi people—representing a fusion of economics, spirituality, and identity.

𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦:
The argument for Kissi cultural preservation through the creation of a Kissi Bendu District aligns with international indigenous rights frameworks which affirm the rights of indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their distinct cultural institutions, languages, traditions, and customs. This is especially so for the Kissi as they already face significant risks tied to socio-economic marginalization and cultural erosion, even if they are not officially an “endangered” tribe. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP, 2007), the International Labour Organization Convention No. 169 (ILO 169), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) especially Goal 16 & 10 and finally, the UNESCO Conventions on Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) all support the need to use all and any means possible to preserve the Kissis of Kissi Bendu by carving out their own district.

𝗞𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜 𝗣𝗢𝗣𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗢𝗢 𝗦𝗠𝗔𝗟𝗟 (?)
I have seen a few arguments that the population of residents making up Kissi Bendu, is too small to meet the threshold size for a District. First of all, there is absolutely NO THRESHOLD nor Population Quota involved in any of the considerations for the creation of districts. Population Quotas are for the creation of electoral divisions.
Furthermore, apart from Population Quota never being a factor for creating Kissi Bendu District, it is also true that neither Population Density nor the Population itself are the most significant factors in creating districts and localities; otherwise the British will not have allowed long-standing existence of a created City of London that has a current population of only 8,583 residents counted at the last UK Census in a size of only around one square mile
So, outside of Population Density, other factors count. There are socio-economic, cultural, financial and security factors which matter. There are also the unique felt needs including a requirement for a sense of belongingness between residents of a locality and the local government administrative (LGA) authority. Academic research shows the nearer the residents are to their LGA, the stronger the bond and the more efficient the service delivery and the concomitant cooperation through payments of Local Tax dues. Countless academic studies have shown compliance with local tax is correlated to proximate services and visibility of public officials.
Taxpayers are more likely to comply when their elected local officials are visibly seen in the vicinity delivering services. In this case, because Kissi Bendu is so disconnected geographically, linguistically and culturally from the rest of Kailahun, it has led to a vicious cycle where the disconnect and the causes for the disconnect reinforce each other cyclically.

𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗛, 𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡, 𝗢𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗘𝗦:
With their own Local District Council managing Cash Grants meant for the Kissi Bendu area, there is no doubt that health, education and other social services will improve from the current state of forgotten abandonment the Kissi people face. Much has been said already about how absence of health services led to Ebola ravaging for two months from March 2014 until May 2014 before it was confirmed and even after it was confirmed, the poorly executed response from the Central Government was a total disaster that has left an everlasting scar on the nation’s collective conscience. We still have a chance to make good as a Nation – let’s give the Kissi people their Kissi Bendu District.

𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗡 & 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛:
Not only will its own Local Council Cash Grant allocations improve service delivery— healthcare, education, infrastructure— but the new district structure will not only be closer administratively to the Kissi people but it will now directly empower local youth and women through political participation, job creations and other socio-economic opportunities.

𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗘-𝗕𝗨𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 & 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡:
Peace building is a continuous process. Koindu is currently the most war-affected part of Sierra Leone and it was also the last place to be disarmed of the warring factions. That may explain why it still remains marginalized as it was not properly integrated into the DDR activities. The Kissi people feel not only marginalized by Kailahun duty-bearers but they believe the wider national framework does not integrate the Kissi people. This has led to significant resentment amongst the Kissi people. There is a frustration that is building up and the recent Yenga debacle has worsened the resentment. By empowering the unique Kissi people to service the Kissi area, we not only reduce the administrative burden on Kailahun Town duty-bearers who tends to conveniently forget about the Kissi area whilst doing allocations but we also continue to build on the peace in the area. This will also facilitate greater regional integration of the Kissi people into the national framework of development, all contributing to peace-building.

𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦
1. Swiftly commission a Feasibility Study through the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs. If the feasibility studies, consultations and engagements indicate for such, there are precedents for splitting off Nyandehun Mambabu, Mano Sewalu and Dodo Kortuma from Luawa and adding them to become part of the new Kissi Bendu District.
2. Elevate Security Structures immediately in the interim through enhanced ONS and military presence.
3. Go ahead to include Kissi Bendu as a stand-alone district in National Planning Documents such as the MTNDP.
4. Engage Donors & Civil Society Organizations (like the Makona River Organization) to support infrastructure revival and reinforce peace-building efforts in the Kissi Bendu area.
5. Initiate Parliamentary Debate so as to formally request for the President to consider a proclamation for the elevation of Kissi Bendu into a stand-alone District status.

𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗟𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡:
We failed the Kissi people on Ebola. We have failed to protect them on Yenga. Let’s provide EQUITY now for them by yielding to their call for a Kissi Bendu district. The stars are lined up perfectly. It is now time to make amends and serve equity to the Kissi people.

I conclude by reiterating that for Security and so many other pillars around which agricultural, economic, social, cultural (unique Kissi culture) and peace-building factors twirl, the country should continue to ask His Excellency the President to create a Kissi Bendu District and that consultations on this should now be done alongside the other ongoing consultative processes aimed at creating new Localities for Sierra Leone. Also, critical steps should be taken in anticipation of a positive Presidential proclamation.

𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛 & 𝗔𝗖𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗔:
It is an academic, research-proven doctrine that the closer (proximity) a people are to their local authority, the better their oversight of their elected local officials, the better their compliance in paying local taxes, the better the service delivery from the local councils and ultimately, the higher the overall rates of success by such Local Councils. Case studies, randomized evaluations and cross-national analyses—indicates that the proximity of local government services, local accountability, and decentralized authority that was taken much closer to residents, positively influence tax compliance (Gadenne et al., 2021; Jibao & Prichard, 2016; Tiebout, 1956; Fjeldstad & Semboja, 2001). Additionally, hundreds of global studies; both academic and policy-based, have investigated and shown a positive correlation between proximity (local government closeness or visible service delivery) and the success of Local Councils. This is proven by extensive global research including nearer home like the Jibao, Prichard & Boogaard done within rural Sierra Leone communities in years 2016/2017 and also a research by Montenbruck, ICTD and LoGRI done within Freetown City Council area few months ago in November 2024.

Furthermore, the case for Kissi Bendu district is well made within a growing body of global evidence & international indigenous rights frameworks which affirm the rights of Kissi people to self-preservation of their well-being, their culture, their language and their families’ security.

THANK YOU

Dr. Sylvia Olayinka Blyden OOR.
Monday June 9th 2025.