Koffi Olomide concerts in South Africa canceled after his conviction for rape

Two major Koffi Olomide concerts planned in South Africa have been canceled. The Congolese star was recently convicted of sexually assaulting one of his former 15-year-old dancers.

Koffi Olomide, 62, whose real name is Antoine Agbepa Mumba, is the star of the Quartier Latin group. He was scheduled to perform at the Gallagher Convention Center in Johannesburg on June 28 and at the Shimmy Beach Club in Cape Town two days later. But protesters launched a campaign on social networks to cancel his concerts because of his conviction for sexual assault last March.

The incriminated facts took place in the Paris region between 2002 and 2006. The complainants, four of her dancers, one of whom was 15 years old, accused her of having imposed on them unconsented relations when the artist gave concerts or recorded in France. Koffi Olomide was sentenced by the Nanterre Criminal Court to two years' suspended sentence for sexual abuse of a minor aged 15 years. While he was risking up to 7 years in prison, the star DRC singer was not present at his trial.

Koffi Olomide was jailed in DR Congo in 2016 for hitting one of his dancers and sentenced to a three-month suspended prison sentence in 2012 for hitting his producer. He is also charged by the Zambian police for hitting a Rwandan photo-journalist in Lusaka in 2012.

The social media petitions have been followed up: "Please note that Koffi Olomide's show … will not take place," said Charles Wilson, General Manager of the Gallagher Convention Center, in a statement. A move that could be followed in other countries and sign the definitive decline of Koffi Olomide's career.