By Fatima Babih, EdD
In Sierra Leone today, the heavy cost of one woman’s political interference is no longer an abstract idea, it has names, numbers, and graves.
Fatima Bio, the First Lady of Sierra Leone, openly instructed striking mine workers not to return to work until she gave them “further instructions.” Her words were not just reckless, they were devastating. That single act led to the loss of over 1,000 jobs at Koidu Holdings.
Recently, it was reported that 13 of those workers have since died, casualties of a crisis sparked not by the company, but by the First Lady’s unlawful meddling in an industrial dispute.
According to Koidu Limited’s legal statement, Fatima Bio’s interference has pushed the mining giant into international arbitration in London, with damages close to $100 million being sought. This is money Sierra Leone simply cannot afford, and yet the ordinary citizens will ultimately bear the weight of Fatima Bio’s reckless ambition.
Instead of safeguarding the company and the thousands of families dependent on it, her husband’s government threw its full support behind Fatima Bio’s recklessness; freezing Koidu’s bank accounts and leaving the mine in “care and maintenance.”
The result? Lost wages, lost lives, the destruction of livelihoods and economic ruin for Kono district.
The damage doesn’t stop at Koidu Holdings. When a First Lady can shut down an international mining operation on a personal whim, what message does that send to the world?
Investors see Sierra Leone not as a place of opportunity, but as a high-risk environment where contracts are meaningless and political interference trumps the rule of law.
Foreign investors do not fear the rocks in Sierra Leone’s soil, they fear the recklessness of those in power. Fatima Bio’s behavior has lit a fire under investor confidence, leaving a scorched reputation for a nation already struggling to attract the capital it desperately needs.
A First Lady should uplift her country. Instead, Fatima Bio has become a liability Sierra Leone cannot afford. Her interference has left behind death, debt, and disillusionment.
The burden now sits squarely on the shoulders of ordinary Sierra Leoneans who continue to pay the price for Fatima Bio’s unchecked abuse of power.
MAMA SALONE ~ Lioness of the West Coast 