From escaping child marriage 'to an old pervert' to becoming Sierra Leone's first lady

It takes Fatima Bio lone a infinitesimal to respond erstwhile we inquire what it was similar to beryllium an asylum seeker successful London.

"Better than being joined to an aged pervert," she says deadpan, earlier laughing - a notation to her father's plans to wed her disconnected arsenic a teenager.

A batch has changed since then. In the years that followed, she became an actress, past met a antheral successful London erstwhile she was interviewing him astir influential Sierra Leoneans successful the diaspora and joined him. He was Julius Bio - and helium is present Sierra Leone's president.

As the country's archetypal lady, Fatima Bio is seen arsenic a compelling yet divisive fig - immoderate young radical spot her arsenic a refreshing dependable successful politics, who speaks up for women and girls, portion others accidental she has overstepped her remit and that she is excessively vocal and excessively progressive successful the moving of her husband's party.

She has been booed and jeered astatine by MPs and criticised implicit a video that she shared connected her societal media channels featuring a notorious drugs dealer, whom she denies knowing.

She rapidly stops laughing and composes herself to archer america the communicative that inspired her to champion a instrumentality banning kid matrimony successful Sierra Leone, which came into effect successful 2024.

She was astir a kid bride herself. By the clip she turned 13, her father, a diamond miner from Kano district, had arranged her matrimony to a antheral successful his 30s, whom she had known arsenic an uncle fig since she was a small girl.

"There was nary discussion. It was decided," she says.

But conscionable earlier the wedding, erstwhile she turned 16 successful 1996, Sierra Leone's civilian warfare caused capable distraction to let her to flight with the assistance of relatives and question asylum successful the UK.

Fatima Bio landed successful London connected Christmas Eve astatine Gatwick Airport wearing a T-shirt, she says, shocked by the cold, but relieved to person the accidental of a caller life. She moved successful with a distant relative.

"England was my astonishing grace. I went to England, I got my voice," the archetypal woman adds. "I got my independence, and past I was capable to combat for myself. And present I tin combat for arsenic galore young radical arsenic possible."

Something other she gained successful the UK was a assembly level successful Southwark successful cardinal London, a location she inactive keeps contiguous wherever her children live.

As a signifier of societal housing, assembly homes are usually cheaper to rent than backstage accommodation and applicants person to conscionable definite criteria.

The information that a sitting archetypal lady, who lives successful a statesmanlike mansion successful the capital, Freetown, retains a tenancy has drawn disapproval successful some the British and Sierra Leonean press.

With much than 18,000 radical connected the borough's waiting database for housing, the council's website says that "even radical successful the top request tin look respective years' wait".

But it is simply a concern she defends. "My children are each British citizens," she says. "I'm paying for my assembly location myself. I person not committed immoderate crime."

In a statement, Southwark assembly told the BBC that it does not remark connected idiosyncratic tenancies but "if determination is uncertainty that tenants are gathering the obligations successful their tenancy agreement, we transportation retired regular checks and investigations to find that those obligations are being met" .

We are astatine the family's farm, astir an hour's thrust from the Presidential Lodge successful Freetown, wherever she usually lives with her husband. Julius Bio, a erstwhile soldier, became president successful 2018 and was re-elected successful 2023.

Here astatine the farm, the archetypal woman seems acold much astatine easiness than astatine the ceremonial functions we had antecedently followed her to. Wearing jeans and an Arsenal shot shirt, she takes america for a locomotion to spot her galore animals, including chickens, cattle and goats.

It is this accessible, aspirational representation - a caller look for Sierra Leone, wherever planetary narratives person agelong centred connected kid soldiers, British assemblage regularisation and humor diamonds - that has won her millions of likes connected societal media. She posts regularly, often dancing and engaging straight with her followers.

She addresses taboo topics specified arsenic play poverty. Sierra Leone has nary nationalist argumentation guaranteeing escaped sanitary products successful schools - dissimilar Kenya, Botswana, South Africa and Zambia.

Groups, including the United Nations children's foundation Unicef, person said that girls successful Sierra Leone often miss schoolhouse during their periods for fearfulness of dirtying their uniform.

"Girls were missing astatine slightest 80 days of schoolhouse a twelvemonth due to the fact that of menstruation," says Bio. "If you miss 80 days of the schoolhouse year, it is astir similar missing an full term. They are inactive not getting the equality they deserve. That's wherefore I regularly sojourn areas to administer escaped sanitary towels. I privation girls to get the acquisition truthful they tin beryllium astatine the table, making decisions for themselves."

While this has won her supporters, and saw her elected caput of the Organization of African First Ladies for Development (Oaflad), galore judge she is overstepping a relation that is traditionally considered mostly ceremonial.

She is an progressive subordinate of the ruling SLPP party, openly championing her favoured politicians, and speaks astatine run rallies adjacent erstwhile her hubby is not present. She has besides issued video statements connected her ain societal media channels challenging politicians (including those successful her ain party) and the Speaker of the Parliament.

During the State Opening of Parliament connected 7 August 2025, Fatima Bio was booed by immoderate MPs. Local media reported that they sang a derogatory opus astir enactment workers. She responded by putting connected her earphones and listening to music.

The archetypal woman insists that the jeering did not upset her.

"It conscionable shows that not each men are educated," she says. "Not each men judge successful women's empowerment and women's equality.

"I person been an activistic for acold excessively agelong to beryllium a calendar wife," she says, explaining she does much than organise the household diary.

"I perceive to the radical and I bring it to the government. I perceive to the authorities and I instrumentality it to the people. So that's however we work."

Over the days we walk with her, Fatima Bio says she wants to refresh the representation of her country.

When we be a graduation ceremonial astatine the slick and freshly painted Choithram International School, wherever she is the keynote speaker, girls halt to chat with her arsenic they cod their diplomas. She points retired that the archetypal girls' precocious schoolhouse successful sub-Saharan Africa was built successful the country, and describes Sierra Leone arsenic a spot marked by spiritual tolerance.

Like 77% of Sierra Leone's population, Bio is Muslim. Her husband, however, is portion of the 21% who are Christian. She tells america the mates be some mosque and religion services.

It was aft a religion work that she received immoderate of her astir aggravated criticism.

In January 2025, Reuters quality bureau reported that Jos Leijdekkers, besides known arsenic "Chubby Jos", 1 of Europe's astir wanted cause dealers, had allegedly appeared connected a video posted connected First Lady Fatima Bio's societal media channels.

The footage allegedly shows Leijdekkers, 34, lasting a fewer rows down the archetypal woman and the president astatine the religion service.

Leijdekkers has been sentenced successful absentia to 24 years successful situation by a Rotterdam tribunal for smuggling cocaine into the Netherlands. West African countries are often utilized arsenic a way for the trafficking of drugs from Latin America to Europe.

The BBC has not independently verified the video, which has present been deleted.

When asked by the BBC however 1 of Europe's astir wanted cause kingpins was capable to get adjacent to the archetypal household of Sierra Leone, she denies knowing him.

"I wouldn't cognize due to the fact that I'm not a criminal," she says. "I don't bring radical into church. I'm not a Christian. I'm a Muslim. So I don't cognize who was successful that church. You don't speech astir what you don't know."

She besides denies rumours that Leijdekkers allegedly has a kid with her step-daughter, the president's girl from a erstwhile relationship.

"These are each the lies I americium not going to validate," she says.

Analysts accidental that astir radical successful Sierra Leone are much acrophobic with the regular conflict to marque ends meet, than with reasoning astir Leijdekkers.

Ever since British geologists extracted diamonds successful the 1930s, the country's mineral wealthiness has seldom reached mean people.

A brutal civilian warfare from 1991 to 2002, fuelled successful portion by the diamond commercialized and backed by Charles Taylor's forces successful neighbouring Liberia, killed tens of thousands and forced millions much to fly their homes.

Recovery has been repeatedly acceptable backmost - by the 2014 Ebola epidemic, Covid-19, and rising substance and nutrient prices aft Russia's penetration of Ukraine.

In 2022, protests implicit the outgo of surviving broke retired successful Freetown and astatine slightest 20 civilians and six constabulary officers were killed.

Against that backdrop, wherever regular economical pressures predominate nationalist attention, different disapproval of the archetypal lady's ain wealthiness has surfaced, including implicit respective properties. She refuses to beryllium drawn when asked if her household inhabit mansions successful The Gambia, and however they were paid for.

"I don't person to contradict it. I don't person to admit it. When they travel retired with the impervious that what they're saying is the reality, past we'll person a conversation."

It's this assurance that has galore governmental analysts successful Sierra Leone and beyond wondering if Bio is mounting the signifier to 1 time tally for presidency herself - possibly erstwhile her husband's word runs retired successful 2028 arsenic helium is not eligible to tally again.

He excessively has faced controversy, including disapproval implicit his absorption of the system and questions astir transparency successful the 2023 election. The electoral assemblage insisted mechanisms had been successful spot to guarantee a just vote.

"I'm not bare to beryllium president," says First Lady Fatima Bio. "It'll person to beryllium the volition of God. I'm a precise fervent believer that erstwhile God wants something, helium does it… If it is what God wants, nary antheral tin halt it."