Koffi Olomide is one of the biggest music stars in Africa; he is celebrated in the country of his birth, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and feted around the continent and the world.
He was due to perform in Cape Town and Johannesburg on June 28 and 30, until South African women came together online to stop his shows.
A collective of feminist and gender justice organisations calling itself the Stop Koffi Olomide Collective — made up of 37 groups including Oxfam South Africa, Soul City, Sonke Gender Justice, The Total Shutdown, Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), South African Men Action Group, and One in Nine Campaign — launched a petition to stop Olomide’s perfomances.
Koffi Olomide recently convicted for statutory rape in France, (deported from Kenya in 2016 - assaulted his dancer, convicted of assault in DRC for assault) is coming to SA. He has gigs in Jozi and Cape Town.
— #PositiveFarmHer (@pozcandy) June 17, 2019
We need to stop this. @tumisole@tianjohnson@RosieMotenepic.twitter.com/MIh03twLjk
The petition stated: “Koffi Olomide has a documented history of committing violence directed at women. Allowing him to perform in South Africa would undermine the victims of his actions, which cannot be tolerated or allowed. South Africa already has a gender-based violence crisis and should not be rewarding perpetrators with platforms such as this.”
Olomide, 65, has a violent history. In March a French court found him guilty of the statutory rape of a 15-year-old former dancer, and gave him a 2-year suspended sentence.
He was also given a 3-month suspened sentence by a court in DRC for attacking his producer in 2012.
He was also caught on camera kicking one of his female dancers in Kenya in 2016 — the year he also reportedly attacked a Rwandan photojournalist in Lusaka, Zambia.
He is still a wanted man in the southern African country.
The petition, which gathered 500 signatures, asked the departments of home affairs, justice, and arts and culture to dismiss his visa application, or in the event that he already had a visa to travel to South Africa, for Gallagher Estate and Shimmy Beach Club in Johannesburg and Cape Town to cancel his shows.
Koffi Olomide’s Voss has been cancelled by @homeaffairsZA!!!
— Bessie’s Head (@lebomashile) June 19, 2019
1. Shimmy Shimmy cancelled his show
2. Gallagher Estates cancelled show
3. Home Affairs cancelled his visa
1 misogynist abuser down, many many more to go! @StopKoffiOlomi1 - I am so incredibly proud of you!
Both venues cancelled the shows. Gallagher Convention Centre chief executive Charles Wilson released a short media statement on Wednesday that simply stated: “Kindly be advised that the Koffi Olomide show, scheduled for June 28 2019, will not be taking place at Gallagher Convention Centre.”
Shimmy Beach Club sent out a tweet saying: “Please note that @ShimmyBeach made the decision last week not to host the Koffi Olomide event that was being run by an outside promoter.”