Former model and actress Fatima Jabbe-Bio, 44, moved to Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, when her husband, Julius Maada Bio, became president of the country in 2018. The couple swapped London to live in a presidential lodge on sprawling grounds in the hills above the city, which boasts a swimming pool, tennis court and helipad while enjoying access to several other luxury properties. (Photo: Corrupt couple Maada Bio and Fatima Jabbe Bio).

Mr Maada Bio is worth an estimated £10 million and is said to be the highest-paid president in Sierra Leone’s history, while his wife has allegedly amassed a portfolio of luxury properties across Africa. But records show that Ms Jabbe-Bio has continued to be listed as the tenant of a modest two-bedroom council flat in Southwark since 2007.

She insisted in an interview earlier this week that she had ‘not committed any crime’ by continuing to rent the two-bedroom flat in Southwark and said she has kept it because her children live there. She told the BBC: ‘My children are all British citizens. I’m paying for my council house myself. I have not committed any crime.’

But when the Daily Mail visited the property, other residents revealed that it has been empty for at least three years and that they have not seen Ms Jabbe-Bio since she left for Sierra Leone. Residents also pointed to a pile of uncollected letters placed outside the entrance to the flat, addressed to Ms Jabbe-Bio and her husband.

One resident said: ‘After she left, there were some of her family members living there, but there’s been nobody there for around three years. It’s a terrible waste because somebody who really needs a place to live should be given it. I’ve known Fatima for a long time, and everybody in this block knows that she’s the first lady of Sierra Leone and is living a good life. I don’t know why she’s held onto this flat and why the council haven’t done anything about it?’

The flat is located on the first floor of a shabby house, which is made up of six other flats, where the rent is around £150 per week. One resident said: ‘All the flats are occupied except for the one belonging to Fatima. Somebody comes now and again to collect the mail, but they don’t go inside. The postman just drops the mail at the front door because even he knows there’s nobody there.’

Another neighbour revealed that Ms Jabbe-Bio initially lived in the flat with her daughter from a previous relationship, and then, after meeting Mr Maada Bio, he also moved into the property, from where he orchestrated his political activities. The neighbour added: ‘There are a lot of people from Sierra Leone in this area, and both Fatima and her husband were very well known to us. Once they left, they never came back to live in the flat, but you can’t blame them because it’s not very nice.’

More than 18,000 people are on Southwark Council’s waiting list for housing, with waits of more than five years. According to Southwark Council’s own guidelines, to be included on the housing register, an individual must prove that they have lived in Southwark continuously for the past five years, or that they work in Southwark and have a housing need, or they have served in the regular armed forces within five years of the date of the application.

Additionally, a person cannot be included on the housing register if they own their own home or other residential accommodation. Housing regulations also require that such a property is the tenant’s only or principal residence. According to a report earlier this month by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, Ms Fatima Jabbe-Bio has amassed several multi-million-pound properties since her husband became president.

This includes two villas in the Gambia, a flat in a luxury estate, and an entire apartment building. Ms Jabbe-Bio met her husband in London in 2012, after he had secured the presidential nomination of the Sierra Leone People’s Party, the country’s main opposition party. The couple married a year later. Mr Maada Bio, 60, formerly served as a brigadier during Sierra Leone’s civil war in the 1990s. He was re-elected president in 2023 and shares five children with Ms Jabbe-Bio.

A spokesperson for Southwark Council said: ‘We cannot comment on individual tenancies. If there is doubt that tenants are meeting the obligations in their tenancy agreement, we carry out regular checks and investigations to determine that those obligations are being met. There is a huge demand for council homes in Southwark, and they must go to people in the very greatest need. We regularly take action to investigate allegations of tenancy fraud and take appropriate action if tenancy fraud is discovered.’ Courtesy: Britbrief.co.uk.

Sierra Leone’s First Lady ‘Rents 2-Bed Council Flat in London’ Amid Social Housing Crisis. It Comes as More than 336,000 Households in the Capital were on Waiting Lists for Social Housing in 2024

By James Knuckey, Sat, May 10, 2025

The First Lady of Sierra Leone, who left the UK in 2018, is believed to still be renting a council flat in south London, according to reports. It is claimed that records show Fatima Jabbe-Bio registered to vote at the two-bedroom flat in Southwark several times since 2009, with Southwark Council confirming the property has had the same tenant since 2007 – indicating Ms Jabbe-Bio continues to rent the flat.

The Times reports that the 44-year-old, who is said to have an impressive property portfolio in Africa, appears to be breaching council housing rules, which state that such a property be a tenant’s sole or principal residence. It comes amid a social housing crisis in the UK, with London particularly affected. More than 336,000 households in the capital were on waiting lists for social housing in 2024.

Ms Jabbe-Bio was born in Sierra Leone and came to London to pursue a career in modelling and acting, where she met her now husband, Julius Maada Bio, the President of Sierra Leone. They are said to have married in 2013 and lived in the flat in Southwark until he was elected in 2018, when they moved to the luxurious presidential mansion in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown.

Neighbours of the property in south London say Ms Jabbe-Bio visited the flat sporadically and as recently as last autumn. It is not clear why the First Lady has retained the tenancy of the flat. Neighbours reportedly recognised Tigda Soley, Ms Jabbe-Bio’s daughter from a previous marriage, in pictures shown to them.

The 19-year-old was registered to vote at the address in 2023, according to reports, with one neighbour saying she occasionally visited to collect post addressed to the President and First Lady, while another suggested she stayed at the flat when visiting London for social outings. The Times published what it said was an image of letters addressed to the couple outside the front door of the flat.

The average council rent for a two-bedroom flat in Southwark is said to be around £560 a month. A spokesperson for Southwark Council told the Express: “We cannot comment on individual tenancies. “If there is doubt that tenants are meeting the obligations in their tenancy agreement, we carry out regular checks and investigations to determine that those obligations are being met.

“There is a huge demand for council homes in Southwark, and they must go to people in the very greatest need. We regularly take action to investigate allegations of tenancy fraud and take appropriate action if tenancy fraud is discovered.” Neither the First Lady, President Bio, nor Tigda Soley reportedly responded to requests for comment. Courtesy: Express.co.uk.