Southwark Council has recovered a taxpayer-subsidized flat held by Fatima Jabbe-Bio, who lived in Sierra Leone's presidential residence since 2018, violating primary residence rules amid a housing crisis.
Sierra Leone 's First Lady, Fatima Jabbe-Bio , has been evicted from a taxpayer-subsidized London council flat she retained despite residing for years at the country's presidential residence in Freetown.
The two-bedroom property in Southwark was intended as her primary home under council tenancy rules, but after she moved to Sierra Leone in 2018 when her husband, President Julius Maada Bio, took office, she kept the flat while living abroad. Following a year-long investigation, Southwark Council confirmed it regained possession of the unit and will reallocate it to a local family in urgent housing need.
Reginald Popoola, the council's executive member for council homes, expressed relief that the property would now serve its intended purpose of providing safe, secure housing for residents on the waiting list. The flat, located on the first floor of a converted house with six other units, had been occupied by Jabbe-Bio for over a decade before her relocation.
Neighbors reported the flat remained largely vacant, with only occasional visits to collect mail, describing it as "a terrible waste" amid a severe social housing shortage. In Southwark alone, more than 18,000 households await accommodation, with around 4,000 in temporary housing. London's social housing waiting list has hit its highest level in a decade.
Jabbe-Bio, a former model and actress born in Sierra Leone, met President Bio in London in 2012 while he was fundraising for his initial presidential campaign; they married the next year. She defended her right to the council house in a BBC interview, stating her children are British citizens and she pays rent herself, asserting no crime was committed.
However, an Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project report last year cited property records alleging she holds a substantial portfolio, including two villas in The Gambia, a luxury apartment, and an entire residential block. Robert Jenrick, Treasury spokesman for Reform UK, visited the flat and vowed to end such arrangements if his party forms government.
Meanwhile, Jabbe-Bio's scheduled appearance at a Cambridge University women's empowerment conference was canceled after it emerged she had repeatedly declined to condemn female genital mutilation and argued the practice is not harmful. The controversy highlights broader issues of public housing ethics and political privilege. With President Bio re-elected in 2023, the couple have five children together and reside in Freetown's presidential estate, which features a swimming pool, tennis court, and helipad.
Jabbe-Bio's daughter from a previous marriage was registered to vote at the London address in 2023. In 2024, Jabbe-Bio received a 'First Lady of the Year' award at an event hosted in Parliament by Labour MP Afzal Khan and Andrew Gwynne. The eviction underscores Southwark Council's commitment to enforce residency requirements and address housing need, reclaiming a resource that had sat unused while thousands await shelter
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Sierra Leone's first lady evicted from London council flat despite residing at presidential lodgeFatima Jabbe-Bio, the first lady of Sierra Leone, has been evicted from a taxpayer-subsidised London council flat she kept despite residing at the country's presidential residence. The council flat was recovered and reallocated to a local family in housing need.
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