Sierra Leone's First Lady is allegedly renting a council flat in London despite living in her country's presidential mansion and holding a huge African property portfolio.
Fatima Jabbe-Bio, 44, a former actress, left the British capital when her husband Julius Maada Bio became president of the West African nation.
But records show she has been registered to vote at a two-bedroom Southwark council flat several times since 2009, with the council confirming the flat has had the same tenant since 2007.
This appears to breach council housing regulations, which require such properties to be a tenant's sole or principal residence.
Fatima Jabbe-Bio is allegedly renting a council flat in London despite living in her country's presidential mansion
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Since 2018, Jabbe-Bio has been living with her husband in the presidential lodge in Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital.
It remains unclear why she has retained tenancy of the Southwark flat, where she also registered a company in 2008.
The average monthly council rent for a two-bedroom flat in Southwark is about £560, roughly a third of market rates.
Meanwhile, Freetown's presidential lodge is a luxury mansion set in extensive grounds in the hills above the city, equipped with a swimming pool, tennis courts and a helipad.
According to a report by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, the First Lady owns two villas in the Gambia, a flat in a luxury estate and an entire apartment building.
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It remains unclear why Jabbe-Bio has retained tenancy of her Southwark flat
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And when visiting the Gambia last year, the couple allegedly stayed in a luxury coastal villa officially owned by Jabbe-Bio's elderly mother.
The 44-year-old's council flat renting comes as hundreds of thousands of families are still waiting for social housing in England as of April last year, with London accounting for one in four of these.
In Southwark alone, more than 18,000 households are on the waiting list, including over 4,000 in temporary accommodation.
The average waiting time for a three-bedroom council home in the borough exceeds five years.
The First Lady's story - and the soaring waiting lists - also follows the news that another London council advertises social housing "to migrants" in multiple foreign languages.
Back in Lambeth, neighbours said Jabbe-Bio only visited the flat from time to time, with one recalling a visit "last October or November" when "she came with these executive cars, black Mazdas, and entered the house".
PICTURED: Sierra Leone's massive Presidential Lodge
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Meanwhile, letters addressed to the presidential couple have been seen outside the front door.
Neighbours also recognised Tigda Soley, the First Lady's 19-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, in photographs shown to them.
One neighbour said Soley occasionally visited to collect post addressed to the President and First Lady.
A Southwark Council spokesman 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."
