*Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Fatima Bio leads mining workers protest againat Koidu Holdings
Days after the government of Sierra Leone brokered a “peace deal” to end strikes at Koidu Holdings’ diamond mines, angry workers are gearing up for a massive new protest, vowing to flood the streets on April 4th, 2025 unless the company pays salaries owed since 2016 and stops “treating us like slaves.”
Over 1,000 miners plan to march through Koidu City with placards demanding justice, accusing Koidu Holdings – one of the country’s biggest mining firms – of owing them years of wages due to a controversial rule that fixed the dollar exchange rate at *NLe 6.50 to $1*—a move workers say robbed them of fair pay.
“We’ve waited nine years. Enough is enough!” said Sulaiman Mansaray, the miners’ union leader, in a letter notifying police of the protest.
This explosion of anger comes just weeks after Koidu Holdings, one of Sierra Leone’s biggest mining companies, *shut down all operations*, blaming “illegal strikes” and “political interference.”
The company claims protests by miners—who risk their lives in toxic pits and drink dirty water from mine floors—are “unlawful.”
But workers say the shutdown is a *blackmail* to force the government to surrender to the company’s harsh terms.
The crisis turned explosive when First Lady Fatima Bio joined miners on the frontlines early this month, calling Koidu Holdings out for “exploitation” and slamming some government officials as “dog mortal man” for ignoring workers’ suffering.
Her fiery stance split the nation: supporters hail her as a hero for the poor, while critics accuse her of scaring away investors.
Koidu Holdings wasted no time pointing fingers, accusing Madam Bio of “sabotage” and claiming her support for workers made the situation worse.
But miners disagree: “Without the First Lady, nobody would have heard our cries,” said a worker, too scared to give his name.
Last week, the government and Koidu Holdings announced a truce: the company promised bonuses tied to diamond sales and payouts for fired workers.
But miners say nothing has changed.
Now, with the mines shut, thousands face starvation.
“Koidu Holdings thinks it can starve us into silence,” said Charles Kainessie, a protest organizer. “But we’d rather die fighting.”
The shutdown comes as diamond prices crash worldwide, fueling suspicions Koidu Holdings is using the crisis as an excuse to cut losses.
“They’ve sucked Kono dry for decades. Now they want to run,” said a village chief.
Meanwhile, the government is trapped: side with workers and risk the company fleeing, or side with Koidu and betray the people.
As miners prepare for their April 4th protest, all eyes are on the government; will it force Koidu Holdings to pay up and reopen? Or will it let a foreign company hold Sierra Leone hostage?
For Kono’s miners, the answer means life or death.
*JUSTICETV Online
