British actor Idris Elba is in the West African country of Sierra Leone for a private visit, but which has been hailed by the country's Tourism Minister Memunatu Pratt as a "homecoming."

Elba's father, Winston Elba, migrated to the U.K. where he met with his Ghanaian mother, Eve Elba.

The actor and musician came to fame after starring in the HBO series The Wire, in which he appeared as drug kingpin Stringer Bell. He also played Nelson Mandela in the biopic Long Walk to Freedom.

During his stay in Sierra Leone, Elba is expected to attend the premiere of a movie about chimpanzees, Sierra Leone's national animal, and will later visit the chimpanzee sanctuary of Tacugama.

He was also scheduled to meet with President Julius Maada Bio on Friday, and is expected to be offered citizenship to the African country.

This is the 47-year-old's second visit to the continent this year.

Elba made headlines in April when he married his fiancée, Sabrina Dhowre, in a three-day ceremony in Marrakesh, Morocco.

Sources in Sierra Leone say Elba plans to invest in the country.

Source(S): BBC