Fuseng-be's experiences confirmed Governor Thompson's view that officials of the Sierra Leone Company (including Ludlam) had concealed the existence of slavery in the colony by using terms such as apprenticeship and redemption in place of 'slavery and purchase'. Alimaamy Dalu Mohammedu Dumbuya (also known as Dala Modu), a Muslim trader who had been expelled from his settlement at Dalamodiya on the outskirts of Freetown for slave trading, was drawn into this debate on the existence of slavery in the colony. In testimony given before Governor Thompson in 1809, he stated that there were slaves living in Freetown. He explained that he had offered to show Ludlam 'country provement [i.e. proof] by pointing out the Slaves', if all the inhabitants were turned out of their houses. Ludlam did not take him up on this offer.  
As Freetown was a settlement of fewer than two thousand people in 1807, it would have been difficult for Francis to conceal the presence of Fuseng-be in his household. Francis may have considered that concealment was unnecessary, beyond claiming that she was a servant or an apprentice. One of the complaints made by Dala Modu was that Ludlam turned a blind eye whenever settlers were found to hold slaves, but his own actions were subject to detailed scrutiny.