British actor Idris Elba went to visit Sierra Leone, his father’s country on Friday. Sierra Leone Tourism Minister Memunatu Pratt had described the actor’s visit as a homecoming.
While this was a private visit, the famed actor will be meeting Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio, who will grant him citizenship and make him a citizen of the country, according to the tourism minister.
Elba had starred in the movie Long Walk to Freedom where he was cast as Nelson Mandela but Idris received global acclaim after featuring in the HBO series, The Wire, where he played the role of a drug Capone for Stringer Bell.
Reports have it that the British actor’s mum, hails from Ghana and will be joining her son to attend the premiere of a movie about chimpanzees, which is the national animal in Sierra Leone. Idris will later tour the chimpanzee sanctuary of Tacugama.
Elba had met President Bio at an investment conference in UK and also at the UN General Assembly meeting in New York.
The Sierra Leone government had announced plans to invest in Bonthe Island, a potential tourist destination.