Sierra Leone's First Lady kept South London council flat empty for three years despite claiming her children lived there

By VIVEK CHAUDHARY, SENIOR REPORTER Published: 00:54, 20 May 2026 | Updated: 00:54, 20 May 2026 This is the south London council flat in the name of Sierra Leone's first lady that's been empty for three years despite her claiming her children live there. 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. Mr Maada Bio is worth an estimated £10million 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 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. Sierra Leone president Julius Maada Bio pictured with his wife Fatima Jabbe-Bio in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2022 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 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. Ms Jabbe Boi is pictured with Polish first lady Marta Nawrocka, French first lady Brigitte Macron and US first lady Melania Trump (left to right) at a Summit, featuring a robot, in Washington this year  When the Daily Mail visited the property residents pointed to a pile of uncollected letters placed outside the entrance to the flat addressed to Ms Jabbe-Bio and her husband 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 a number of 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 as 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 huge demand for council homes in Southwark and it's important they 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.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. 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