Loko

Port Loko stands at the head of a navigable creek leading into the Sierra Leone estuary. Its Temne name, Baké Loko, means the wharf of the Loko, recalling the people who lived here before Temne influence grew. The settlement was an important meeting place for trade between the interior and the Atlantic. During the slave trade, captives brought down from inland passed through Port Loko towards coastal dealers and ships, while the town remained a centre of local political power.