It is extremely embarrasing when African rich and powerful and the associates and relations get into every kind of untidy situations in countries overseas. The most recent and one of the most petty is that which the wife of the president of Sierra Leone got herself all tangled in. What is most embarrassing about these sleazy greedy actions of these supposedly rich Africans is the effect these cheap criminal activities have on the Africans of the same countries living in other continents.
A social housing flat rented by Sierra Leone’s first lady, Fatima Jabbe-Bio, has been seized by a London council.
Southwark council confirmed it had repossessed the two-bedroom home in Walworth previously occupied by Fatima Jabbe-Bio, whose tenancy was reported by the Times last year.
Jabbe-Bio, who is married to Sierra Leone’s president, Julius Maada Bio, had been listed on the tenancy since 2007. She has divided her time between Sierra Leone and Britain since her husband was elected in 2018.
Housing rules state that council properties should ordinarily be a tenant’s principal residence. The Times investigation raised questions about whether the south London flat met that requirement after neighbours said they rarely saw Jabbe-Bio. Why she had to hold on to the tenancy after her husband was elected the president of their country beats every imagination.
Some folks even allege that she was renting it to some undocumented immigrants and collecting the rent. Allegation if proven, makes this the most foolish act of the decade.
The case drew widespread attention after reports that Jabbe-Bio had retained the tenancy despite living for much of the year in the presidential lodge in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
In an interview with the BBC last month, Jabbe-Bio defended keeping the flat, rejecting suggestions she had acted improperly. The former model and actor said: “My children are all British citizens. I’m paying for my council house myself. I have not committed any crime.”
There is no suggestion Jabbe-Bio has been charged with any offence.
The recovery of the property comes at a time of acute pressure on social housing in London, with growing waiting lists, rising homelessness and increasing demand for temporary accommodation.
In Southwark alone, more than 18,000 households are on the waiting list for social housing, council figures show. About 4,000 households are living in temporary accommodation while waiting for a permanent home.
Local authorities have stepped up efforts to tackle tenancy fraud and recover properties where tenancy agreements are being contravened. The council said it investigated all allegations of tenancy fraud and unlawful occupation and had recovered 107 properties over the past two years.
