Claim: Sierra Leone‘s president receives an SUV gift from a Chinese investor
Source: Social media
Verdict: Unproven
Researched by Kemo Cham
An article by an online news portal, Sierra Loaded, on April 21, 2025, shows images of Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio driving a luxury SUV at a public event, amid speculations that the car was a gift.
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According to the article and claims shared on social media, the vehicle was donated to the President by the Chief Executive Officer of the Chinese-owned mining company – Leone Rock Metal Group – Gilbert Zhao.
The company mines iron ore and is described by the government as the largest mining company in the country.
The vehicle, a brand-new 2025 Yangwang U8, is described as a high-end SUV, said to have been manufactured by Chinese automaker BYD Auto under its luxury Yangwang brand and is reportedly valued at approximately USD150,000.
Aside from Sierra Loaded, another online publication, Sierra Leone Monitor, published the story.
Background
Footage online on April 15, 2025, shows the vehicle at the handing over ceremony of royalty payments to local authorities in the northern district of Tonkolili, on April 15, 2025, where Leone Rock Metal Group operates one of Africa’s largest iron ore mines, which President Bio attended.
However, the speculation about the vehicle began after the vehicle was spotted among the President’s convoy, which drove through the streets of the southern city of Bo, where he attended the annual Thanksgiving of his alma mater, the Bo Boys Secondary School.
The fact-check report seeks to verify the accuracy of the claim.
Fact-check
While it is not forbidden for public officials to receive gifts, the law requires that such gifts be declared.
According to this law, Section 51(4) of the Anti-Corruption Act, 2008 as amended in 2019, all public institutions are required to develop and maintain a Gift Register, which is a record of Gifts valued at Five Thousand (New) Leones and above, that are received by staff of the respective institutions.
“Where a gift or personal benefit exceeds Five Million [Old] Leones (Five Thousand new leones) in value or where the total value received directly or indirectly from one source in any twelve month period exceeds Five Million [Old] Leones (Five Thousand New Leones), the public officer shall-(a) make a report of that fact to the relevant public body within such time and in such form as may be prescribed by the Commission.”
Section 51 (5) of the Anti-Corruption Act 2019, as amended, states that “A public officer who fails to comply with the requirements in subsection (4) commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine three times the value of the gift or benefit or Fifty Million [Old] Leones, whichever is greater or to imprisonment for a term not less than one year.”
Those concerned about the supposed SUV gift say the president hasn’t declared it, and if it was at all a gift.
When FactSpace Sierra Leone reached out for clarification on this, Information Minister Cherno Bah referred the question to the president’s office.
Presidential Press Secretary Yusuf Keketoma Sandi said in a WhatsApp conversation with FactSpace Sierra Leone that he couldn’t comment on the matter for security reasons.
“I can’t comment on a vehicle which is part of the presidential vehicle fleet of the president for security reasons,” the statement reads.
“The President has consistently comported himself with the dignity and respect the office demands,” the statement added.
Critics say the action raises questions about transparency and fairness in the country’s mining sector, which has in recent times seen competition between Chinese firms and Western-backed companies go in favour of the former.
Verdict
From the above, FactSpace Sierra Leone cannot substantiate whether the vehicle was a gift or not; therefore, the claim is unproven.
