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Claim: A Facebook post by Born 2 Blog claims that for the first time in Sierra Leone’s history, bikes that can charge phones and consume less fuel are available for sale in the country.
Verdict: False. This is not the first time Sierra Leone has received bikes that charge phones. According to interviews with bike sellers and riders, such bikes have been on the market for years.
Full Text
On August 28, 2025, a Facebook post by Born 2 Blog circulated widely, claiming that Sierra Leone has, for the first time, received motorbikes that can charge phones. The post stated that RIDE X has brought in high-quality “okadas” (commercial motorbikes) that not only consume less fuel but also can charge mobile phones. The post included photos of the bikes and gave a shop location and contact number.
The post described the development as “breaking news,” implying that such bikes had never been sold in Sierra Leone. This drew attention from social media users, mainly because motorbikes (locally called okadas) are a significant means of transport in Sierra Leone, and riders often rely on them for business and personal convenience. The claim tends to mislead the public; thus, DUBAWA decided to verify it. In Sierra Leone, where electricity is a daily struggle, the ability to charge a phone is not a trivial matter. Many people actually choose a bike because of this feature since communication is essential, and a dead phone means being cut off.
If the public is misled into thinking this is the first bike with that feature, it affects their business decisions and pockets. Clearing that up is in the public interest because it provides people with the correct information to make informed choices in a country where phone charging is a real challenge.
Verification
To verify the claim, DUBAWA spoke with several bike riders and sellers in Freetown to confirm the existence of similar bikes years earlier. Market models like Daylong, Bajaj, and TVS are already known to have phone-charging features.
One rider, Ibrahim Sesay, who has been riding okadas for more than seven years, said:
“This is not the first bike that charges phones. Long before this, we had models like Daylong, TVS, and Bajaj that already came with USB charging ports. We’ve been using them to charge phones during long rides.”
Another seller at Kissy Road, Abdul Kamara, confirmed this:
“Since around 2018, we have been selling bikes with USB ports. Riders even ask about this feature before buying, because they use it to charge both smartphones and small radios.”
A cross-check of bike models like TVS Star HLX 125 and Bajaj Boxer, which are commonly sold in Sierra Leone, shows that they come fitted with USB ports for charging devices. This proves that the claim that Sierra Leone is receiving such bikes “for the first time” is false.
While the new RIDE X bikes may be high quality and possibly more fuel-efficient, the idea that they are the first to charge phones is false. In fact, the ability to charge devices has become a common feature in many motorcycles imported into Sierra Leone over the past five years.
Conclusion
The claim that Sierra Leone has recently received bikes that charge phones for the first time is false. Evidence from sellers and riders shows that bikes with this feature have been in the country for several years. The new RIDE X bikes may be marketed as improved or more efficient, but they are not the first of their kind in Sierra Leone.
