
Sierra Leone’s first lady defends having council flat in London
Fatima Jabbe-Bio says she has ‘not committed any crime’ by retaining Southwark tenancy while living in presidential mansion.
Sierra Leone’s first lady has defended having a London council flat despite living in a presidential palace.
Fatima Jabbe-Bio, a former actress and model, insisted she had “not committed any crime” by continuing to rent the two-bedroom flat in Southwark.
The 46-year-old is reported to have lived in the property from 2007-2018 before returning to Sierra Leone when her husband, Julius Maada Bio, won the presidency.
They now live in the presidential lodge, a mansion in the hills above Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, which has a swimming pool, tennis courts and a helipad.
But she has retained tenancy of the flat in Southwark, where more than 18,000 people are on the borough’s waiting list for housing, with waits of more than five years to be offered a home.
Mrs Jabbe-Bio has defended her situation. “My children are all British citizens,” she told the BBC. “I’m paying for my council house myself. I have not committed any crime.”