Black Lives Matter Activist Jailed for Fraud After Spending Charity Donations on Herself
A Black Lives Matter activist, who was instrumental in organising the infamous protest that saw the statue of Sir Edward Colston torn down and thrown in the Bristol Harbour, has been jailed for fraud after using donations intended for a children’s charity on herself.
Xahra Saleem, born Yvonne Maina, a founding member of the BLM offshoot All Black Lives Bristol activist group, has been jailed for two and a half years after being found guilty of stealing £32,344 in charitable donations to a local children’s group, Changing Your Mindset, which had planned to use the money to fund a trip to Africa for disadvantaged children in the area.
Saleem was found to have taken the money and used it to enrich herself, purchasing an iPhone, a computer, takeaway food, and beauty products as well as spending £5,800 of the donations on Uber taxi rides over the 11 months up until June of 2021, the Times of London reported.
The BLM activist, who appeared in court in a Hijab, was told at her sentencing hearing that she had abused the trust of the charity and had caused “serious detriment to the victims”.