London: The municipality seizes a social housing apartment rented by the First Lady of Sierra Leone

A London council has repossessed a two-bedroom council flat rented by Sierra Leone's First Lady, Fatima Jabbe-Bio, following a year-long investigation to determine whether the property remained her main residence.

According to the British newspaper The Guardian, Southwark council has reclaimed the apartment he owned in Walworth, south London, after reviewing Jabbe-Bio's continued use of the premises.

Jabbe-Bio, 46, had held the lease since 2007 and is believed to have lived in the apartment until 2018, when her husband, Julius Maada Bio, won the presidential election in Sierra Leone.

Since then, the couple has resided at the presidential residence, a state residence located in the hills above Freetown. The property reportedly includes a swimming pool, tennis courts, and a helipad.

The city council is taking steps to recover the property

According to Southwark's rental regulations, social housing tenants must use their accommodation as their "main or only residence".

The regulations also require tenants to inform the town hall in writing if they plan to be away from the property for more than 42 consecutive days. Annual checks are carried out to ensure that tenants continue to comply with the terms of their lease.

"We can confirm that we have taken possession of a property in Walworth following a 12-month investigation by our housing investigators team," said Reginald Popoola, Southwark's executive member responsible for social housing.

The city council has not disclosed the findings of the investigation nor specified whether Jabbe-Bio had voluntarily relinquished his lease.

However, the organization confirmed that the apartment would be reassigned to a household on its waiting list for housing.

"I am pleased to restore this municipal property to its original purpose, which is to provide safe and stable housing for people with a legitimate need for housing and who are on the city council's waiting list," said Popoola.

Jabbe-Bio denies any wrongdoing

Jabbe-Bio denied any wrongdoing, stating that she continued to pay the rent on the property and maintained family ties with Britain.

"My children are all British citizens. I pay for my own social housing. I have not committed any crime," she told the BBC.

However, Southwark City Council has neither charged Jabbe-Bio with a criminal offence, nor announced any fine or intention to claim financial compensation from him.

Meanwhile, no evidence has been found to establish that the seizure of the property was discriminatory. British law prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, nationality, or ethnic origin.

The dispute centers on whether Jabbe-Bio continued to use the Walworth apartment as his primary residence, in accordance with the terms of the municipal lease.

Pressure is mounting on the British social housing system.

As of March 31, 2025, approximately 1.34 million households were registered on waiting lists for social housing in England, the highest figure since 2014, according to local reports.

London faces the greatest pressure, with more than 341,000 households on waiting lists for social housing across the capital in 2025.

In Southwark, more than 18,000 households are waiting for social housing, while around 4,000 live in temporary accommodation. Some applicants wait more than five years before obtaining permanent housing.

Faced with ever-increasing demand, local authorities have intensified their efforts to reclaim housing whose tenants may have violated occupancy rules.

Southwark said it had recovered 107 homes in two years through investigations into suspected tenancy fraud and illegal occupancy.

The property is located in an expensive London market.

The Walworth apartment is located on a quiet residential street lined with terraced houses, less than three kilometers from central London.

According to the Telegraph, a comparable two-bedroom property in the area would sell for around £385,000, while private rentals can exceed £2,300 per month.

Conversely, tenants in social housing generally pay below-market rents. The Southwark council has not disclosed the amount Jabbe-Bio paid to acquire the property.

From asylum seeker to first lady

Born in Sierra Leone, Jabbe-Bio settled in Britain as an asylum seeker in 1996, at the age of 16, after apparently escaping an arranged marriage with a man in his thirties.

She then pursued a career as an actress, model, screenwriter, and film producer.

In 2012, Jabbe-Bio met Julius Maada Bio, now 60 years old, in London, while interviewing him about Sierra Leonean figures in the diaspora. At the time, Bio was raising funds for his first presidential campaign.

Jabbe-Bio became the first lady of Sierra Leone after Bio's victory in the 2018 presidential election. He was re-elected in 2023.