Former Sierra Leone film star and first lady continues to lease a south London council flat, despite residing in a presidential mansion in Freetown.
Uncovering the London Flat Mystery: First Lady's Unexpected Housing Arrangement
Fatima Jabbe-Bio, Sierra Leone's First Lady, continues to surprise many with her unexpected housing arrangement - a council flat in South London, despite having lived in a luxury mansion in Freetown, Sierra Leone for the past seven years.
Born in Sierra Leone and a former model and actress, Jabbe-Bio has primarily resided in Freetown since her husband, Julius Maada Bio, became the country's president in 2018. The couple enjoys a lavish lifestyle at their presidential lodge, complete with a swimming pool, tennis court, and helipad.
However, records from 2009 onwards show that Jabbe-Bio has listed a two-bedroom council flat address on Southwark's electoral register multiple times. Southwark Council confirms that the flat has had no change of tenant since 2007, as per The Times. The President's wife is also believed to have registered a company at this address in 2008.
According to Southwark Council's guidelines, individuals must prove a continuous five-year residency in the borough, work in Southwark with a housing need, or have served in the regular armed forces within five years of the application to be eligible for housing. Additionally, owning a residential property disqualifies an individual from the housing register.
The First Lady's council flat tenancy appears counterintuitive given her extensive property portfolio in Africa, as reported by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. She is the proud owner of two villas, a flat in a luxury estate, and an entire apartment building in Gambia.
Jabbe-Bio first encountered her husband, Maada Bio, in London in 2012, after he secured the presidential nomination for the Sierra Leone People's Party, the country's main opposition party. The couple married a year later. Maada Bio was a brigadier during Sierra Leone's civil war in the 1990s. They resided in the South London flat until 2018, when Maada Bio was elected as president.
Neighbours report occasional visits from Jabbe-Bio to the Southwark flat, with Tigda Soley, her daughter from a previous marriage, collecting post addressed to her mother and the president.
London's Social Housing Demand Skyrockets
London's demand for social housing hit a record high in January 2023, with an estimated 336,366 households waiting for housing, the highest level in over a decade. It is crucial that council homes are allocated to those most in need.
Southwark Council spokesperson stated, "Social housing tenants have a right to stay in their homes unless they fail to meet their tenant agreement obligations. Where doubt exists, we investigate to ensure compliance."
As of now, both Jabbe-Bio and President Maada Bio have not provided any comments regarding these allegations.
- The guidelines provided by Southwark Council state that individuals must prove a continuous five-year residency in the borough to be eligible for housing, unless they work in Southwark with a housing need or have served in the regular armed forces within five years of the application.
- Despite being the proud owner of numerous properties in Africa, First Lady Fatima Jabbe-Bio has listed a two-bedroom council flat address in Southwark on electoral registers multiple times since 2009.
- The Southwark Council confirms that the flat, owned by Jabbe-Bio since 2007, has had no change of tenant, raising questions about her housing arrangements.
- In the light of the record demand for social housing in London, the distribution of council homes must be ensured for those who are most in need, as stated by Southwark Council spokesperson.
