by Fatima Babih, EdD
In our previous post, we unpacked First Lady Fatima Maada Bio’s reckless political performance in Koidu Town, where she imposed herself on a workers’ protest against Koidu Holdings Limited, accusing the mining company of labor rights violations. At that political rally-style protest where she was surrounded by heavily armed bodyguards, Mrs. Bio referred to her husband’s cabinet members as dogs and positioned herself as the only voice for justice in a deeply complex labor dispute without any knowledge of the country’s labor laws.
But now, a powerful new development has emerged. A letter from Octea Mining Company that not only rebukes Mrs. Bio’s interference but indirectly validates everything many Sierra Leoneans have been warning about Mrs. Bio for the past seven years of her husband’s presidency. In this particular matter, her interference is giving Koidu Holdings leverage they may not otherwise have had.
Octea’s response to Mrs. Bio’s interference and intimidation starkly illustrates the peril when state authority is eroded by one person’s ambition. The company’s letter unequivocally states that Mrs. Bio’s interference in sensitive labor negotiations was not just inappropriate but also destabilizing. It underscores the grave danger of permitting an uneducated, unelected, power-hungry individual, whose only qualification is her marital ties to power, to override institutions, violate protocols, and hijack national processes for personal gain.
This unchecked power is a serious concern for the future of governance in Sierra Leone. This is not a matter of political leaning. It is a matter of governance, law, and national integrity, the very fabric that holds our nation together. The urgent need for accountability in this situation cannot be overstated.
Retaliation in Plain Sight
Just two days after Octea’s letter was released, Mrs. Bio’s retaliation came swiftly and unmistakably through her trusted friend, Ben Kelfala, the head of Sierra Leone’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The ACC issued a press release announcing a formal investigation into various corruption allegations against Koidu Holdings, including “tax evasion and other serious offences.”
The ACC’s move reeks of political vengeance. It is a brazen act of intimidation, a message to others that anyone who defies Mrs. Bio will pay a price.
However, this is no isolated abuse of power by Mrs. Bio through Ben Kelfala, who has shown the people of Sierra Leone that he is not an impartial public servant. He is a close personal friend of Mrs. Bio. At his recent wedding reception, Kelfala proudly stated that before marrying his wife, he asked her to undergo “mentorship” with Mrs. Bio, to learn how to be a wife to him.
More disturbingly, Kelfala is the same man who refused to investigate Mrs. Bio in 2021 when the Auditor General’s report revealed that she had stolen millions in government and donor funds. His response to public calls for action against Mrs. Bio was evasive: he claimed he would first have to investigate past First Ladies, a deflection that effectively killed the idea of investigating Mrs. Bio for her rampant stealing of government funds.
Protected by Power and Enabled by Silence
Mrs. Bio’s swift retaliation against Koidu Holdings, through the head of the country’s anti-corruption agency also reveals a deeper truth: Mrs. Fatima Bio is not just protected by the armed presidential guards who flank her at every public appearance, but she is shielded by an entire army of loyalists embedded within her husband’s government.
From the Anti-Corruption Commissioner to pliant ministers and media surrogates, Mrs. Bio is surrounded by officials willing to bend laws, silence dissent, and weaponize institutions to serve her desires. This is not merely access to power; it is possession of power without accountability, and it is dangerously eroding Sierra Leone’s democratic infrastructure.
The Cost of Vanity-Driven Leadership
Mrs. Bio’s hunger for attention, power, and control is not only unbecoming of a First Lady but also destructive. She routinely derails official processes, undermines professional institutions, and uses public struggles as backdrops for self-glorification.
Her latest performance in Koidu City was no different. Under the guise of helping workers, she staged a political rally-type protest, demonized government officials, and turned a national labor issue into a personal vendetta against her political rival, Chief Minister Dr. David Sengeh, a man Mrs. Bio continues to struggle to outshine.
This is the pattern laid bare in the book The Unbecoming Mrs. Maada Bio of Sierra Leone: a First Lady who cannot accept the boundaries of her role, weaponizes access, and silences anyone who threatens her spotlight.
Now, even foreign investors are dragged into her rivalry and punished for defending due process.
Sierra Leone Deserves Better
The Koidu Holdings Limited matter is a test of Sierra Leone’s institutional strength. Will the nation continue to let a clueless First Lady wield unchecked power, bypass governance structures, and punish those who refuse to play along?
Fatima Bio is not an elected official. She holds no legal or expert authority to lead labor negotiations, command cabinet members, or intimidate private investors. Yet she continues to act with impunity, enabled by a culture of silence and a web of loyal, corrupt officials like Ben Kelfala as protectors within her husband’s government.
It’s time for Sierra Leoneans, at home and abroad, to demand better. To demand leadership that respects the rule of law, not one driven by ego, rivalry, and vengeance. The power to demand change is in our hands.
Mrs. Bio’s interference with labor issues between Koidu Holdings and its workers is not just a company dispute. It is a symptom of a more profound crisis: a nation being held hostage by a First Lady’s ambition and a government too corrupt to stop her.
Until Sierra Leone finds the courage to rein in Fatima Bio’s abuses, the country’s institutions will continue to crumble under the weight of her self-serving crusades.
MAMA SALONE ~ Lioness of the West Coast 