By Alpha Amadu Jalloh.
In a nation plagued by chronic silence and selective outrage, a storm has erupted, one that, depending on our collective response, may either cleanse the rot or flood us into irreversible destruction. That storm is Mrs. Fatima Maada Bio.
Many know her name. Some admire her boldness; others cringe at her unfiltered outbursts. But regardless of where one stands, her recent near hour-long social media address is impossible to ignore. It was not a ceremonial speech by a First Lady wrapped in soft diplomacy or national unity rhetoric. It was an explosive revelation of what lies behind the marble walls and tinted windows of power. In that moment, she exposed a truth so gut-wrenching, so politically inconvenient, that it tore through the charade of silence that has defined Sierra Leone’s governance culture for far too long.
Yes, Fatima Bio is a controversial figure, and many of those surrounding her are equally so, either intoxicated by proximity to power or insulated by the shadow she casts. But what she revealed in that video is not just a personal vendetta or a theatrical performance. It is a national alarm.
Take, for instance, the shocking revelation that Koidu Holding, a major diamond mining company operating in Sierra Leone, agreed to pay its staff based on current USD rates but instead continued to pay using outdated 2016 exchange values. That is wage theft on a national scale. When you factor in their reported refusal to improve basic living and working conditions for the local miners, many of whom live in squalor while extracting diamonds worth millions for foreign shareholders, the situation becomes a glaring symbol of post-colonial exploitation.
Even worse, she alleged that workers are prohibited from speaking their local dialects while on the job. Let that sink in: on their own soil, in their own communities, Sierra Leoneans are denied the right to speak their mother tongues while working in one of the nation’s most economically important industries. This is not just economic oppression. It is a cultural erasure.
But the final straw, the moment that confirmed we are dealing with something far more sinister than administrative negligence, came when Fatima played an audio recording of “Dagg,” a representative of Koidu Holdings, allegedly instructing the Chief Minister to fire Sierra Leonean ministers and calling them “useless.” This wasn’t a minor insult. It was a foreign businessman brazenly ridiculing our sovereign leadership, comfortably and confidently, as though Sierra Leone’s cabinet was his staffroom.
And what did we hear from our government? What did the ministries of Labour, Mines, and even the Office of the President say in response to this humiliation?
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
In any other country where dignity still mattered and where sovereignty still carried weight, this would have triggered national outrage, legal inquiries, mass resignations, and swift investigations. But in Sierra Leone, silence is the preferred response to scandal, especially when that scandal might implicate those at the highest levels.
This is the true tragedy. The silence is not due to lack of awareness. It is deliberate. It is cowardly. And it is dangerous.
Fatima Bio is not an elected official. She holds no constitutional authority to investigate mining firms, call out ministers, or play recordings of private conversations. That is not her job. But when the institutions are legally tasked to protect the people, ministries, parliament, and anti-corruption bodies fail or refuse to act, a vacuum is created. And in that vacuum, Fatima inserted herself.
You may not like her approach, and truthfully, there is much to critique. Her language, tone, and method are sometimes inflammatory, theatrical, and politically risky. But is she the problem? Or is she a mirror reflecting the true face of a government that has lost its spine?
Let us not miss the forest for the trees.
The real issue is not Fatima Bio. It is what she has exposed. The rot. The betrayal. The compromised silence of our watchdogs. The capture of our state by interests who wear the mask of diplomacy while wielding the whip of economic dominance.
For decades, Sierra Leone’s mineral wealth—our diamonds, our bauxite, our gold—has been exploited not just by foreign entities but by cartels, criminal networks, and unreliable companies shielded by members of powerful political dynasties. These actors have operated with impunity, stripping the land, abusing the people, and enriching a few while the nation bleeds. They have used the cloak of legality, aided by corrupt ministers and civil servants, to transform our natural resources into personal fortunes while leaving our communities in perpetual poverty.
Here we are now, watching as the beans begin to spill, one scandal after another. And this is only the beginning. Fatima Bio is not doing this solely for the sake of the people. She is doing it to protect her own interests. She sees that the system is collapsing around her, and she refuses to go down alone. Her revelations are not an act of martyrdom. They are a signal that the walls are caving in, and she is prepared to burn everything and everyone in the process.
She is taking down the very government that nurtured her influence. And yes, that includes her husband, the President of the Republic. Fatima Bio is exposing a network of complicity in which she, too, has long been a central figure. But now that survival is at stake, she is using exposure as a weapon, and the collateral damage includes the presidency itself.
And now, the nation must respond to one of the gravest revelations yet: Koidu Holding owes its workers billions of Leones in stolen wages. It is not enough to debate personalities while workers, for years, have been robbed of their due compensation. Koidu Holding must be compelled to pay every cent they owe their staff based on the true USD exchange rates that were agreed upon during the relevant employment periods. Anything short of that is a national disgrace and a clear violation of both labor rights and contractual ethics.
Furthermore, the National Revenue Authority must come forward and explain how employee taxes have been calculated over these years. Were staff taxed based on the false, underreported salaries pegged to 2016 exchange rates? If the NRA was aware of the contract terms mandating USD-based pay, then what system of accountability has allowed this fraud to continue unchecked? There is no excuse for silence now. The public demands answers.
An independent investigation must be launched immediately. Not only into Koidu Holding’s malpractice, but also into all those in government and institutions who aided and abetted these injustices through collusion, negligence, or silence. This includes senior staff within the NRA, the Ministries of Labour and Mines, and any public official who benefited from shielding the company at the expense of the workers. The truth must be told, and punishments must be meted out regardless of title or status.
If these institutions had functioned, there would have been no need for the First Lady to play the role of national whistleblower. But their failure is what allowed her monologue to become a national event.
This paradox is fascinating. A first lady blowing the whistle on a government her husband leads. And yet, not one official has come forward to dispute the facts she presented. No public rebuttal. No press conference with counter evidence. Just more silence.
So what does this tell us?
It tells us that Fatima Bio may be brash, but she is not lying.
It tells us that the people around her in government either lack the courage to act or are so complicit in the rot that silence is their only shield.
It tells us that Sierra Leone is a nation adrift, its leaders asleep at the wheel, its watchdogs with muzzled mouths, and its people left to survive on their own.
It tells us that if the system will not correct itself from within, the people must rise from without.
This is where we are now. A first lady is doing what an entire government apparatus should have done. That is not progress. That is a cry for help.
So I say this to every Sierra Leonean: Judge her or join her. But do not sit on the fence. That luxury is gone.
If we believe she has overstepped, let us demand the institutions responsible step up and take control. But if they continue to remain mute, then it is up to us to demand more, not just from Fatima Bio, but from the entire architecture of power that has enabled this dysfunction.
This moment is bigger than personalities. It is about national integrity. It is about whether we still believe in justice, in truth, and in governance that serves the people rather than exploits them.
If we allow this opportunity to pass, if we reduce this entire scandal to a debate about who likes or dislikes the First Lady, we will miss the real danger: a nation slipping into chaos while its citizens fight over optics.
Sierra Leone is at a breaking point.
Let this scandal be our wake-up call. Let us push for transparency, for accountability, and for reform. Let us fill the vacuum, not with personalities, but with systems that work.
And until that day comes, let every citizen be reminded: silence is not neutrality. It is complicity.
So judge her if you must, but if you care about truth, justice, and the future of Mama Salone, then perhaps, just perhaps, it’s time to join her too.
By Alpha Amadu Jalloh
Author of “Monopoly of Happiness: Unveiling Sierra Leone’s Social Imbalance”
Recipient, Africa Renaissance Leadership Award 2025
