Sierra Leone’s first lady has council flat repossessed

Southwark council has repossessed a London council flat rented by the first lady of Sierra Leone.

The property, where Fatima Jabbe-Bio has been a tenant since 2007, will be given to someone in genuine need, a Southwark councillor said.

Mrs Jabbe-Bio, 46, lived in the two-bed Walworth flat for nine years. When her husband, Julius Maada Bio, won the presidency, she returned to live in Sierra Leone’s presidential lodge but continued to rent the London property.

Southwark council’s executive member for council homes, Mr Popoola, said: “We can confirm we have taken possession of a property in Walworth following a 12-month investigation by our Housing Investigations Team.

“I look forward to bringing this council property back to its original purpose which is to provide a safe and secure home for people with legitimate housing need on the council’s waiting list.

“This property will be swiftly allocated to a local family in genuine housing need.”

Southwark faces high housing demand with more than 18,000 people on the housing waiting list, including more than 4,000 households in temporary accommodation.

Applicants wait more than five years on average for a three-bed, and less than 10 per cent receive home offers each year.

On Southwark’s social housing demand, Sarah King, Southwark Council’s cabinet member for council homes for Council Homes, said last April: “Council homes change lives.

“In Southwark, the demand for council homes is huge, as it is across London. That’s why it’s so important they go to the people in the very greatest need.”

The former actress and model now lives in Sierra Leone’s State Lodge, in an affluent neighbourhood of the country’s capital, Freetown. The mansion boasts a swimming pool, tennis courts and a helipad.

Mrs Jabbe-Bio previously defended her actions in an interview with BBC Global Women. She said: “My children are all British citizens.

“I’m paying for my council house myself. I have not committed any crime.”

Southwark council’s conditions of tenancy document states that tenants must occupy a council property as their “only or principal home”.

They must not be absent from their property for more than 42 continuous days without giving written notice to the council first, it adds, with annual checks carried out to confirm it is their sole or principal home.

Born in the Kono District of Sierra Leone, Mrs Jabbe-Bio fled an arranged child marriage to a man in his 30s.

She moved to the UK as an asylum seeker in 1996, aged 16, and began working in the African film industry when she was in London, appearing in a handful of low-budget Nigerian movies. She also pursued a career as a model.

The future first lady met her husband in London while he was fundraising for his first presidential bid, and she was interviewing him about successful Sierra Leoneans in the diaspora.

They married a year later, in 2013, and lived in the Southwark flat until his presidential election win five years later.

Mrs Jabbe-Bio has faced backlash from Sierra Leoneans who accuse her of over-involvement in the running of her husband’s party.

Her comments defending female genital mutilation have also sparked international controversy. The first lady has refused to publicly condemn the practice which she says is not harmful.

Southwark council and Mrs Jabbe-Bio’s office were contacted for comment.

[Source: Daily Telegraph]