Shimmy Beach Club cancels Koffi Olomide event amid pressure

Following growing calls for his performances to be cancelled and a petition to stop the Congolese rhumba artist Koffi Olomide from performing in South Africa this month, Shimmy Beach Club has decided to cancel an event he was supposed to headline at their venue.

The venue confirmed this via their Twitter account in a series of responses to tweets querying his performance.

Please note that @ShimmyBeach made the decision last week not to host the Koffi Olomide event that was being run by an outside promoter. https://t.co/Nab9W3u8nL

— Shimmy Beach Club (@ShimmyBeach) June 18, 2019

According to the BBC, Olomide was recently convicted of the statutory rape of one of his former dancers who was 15 years old at the time and given a two-year suspended sentence by a French court.

Additionally, during the court proceedings, four of Olamide’s former dancers alleged that they were repeatedly sexually assaulted by the artist between 2002 and 2006 and held against their will while in Paris, reports Okay Africa.

The court dismissed the kidnapping and assault charges.

As the petition gains traction, Twitter account @StopKoffiOlomi1 has been established as an official means of communication for the cause.

Recently convicted for statutory rape in France, assaulted his female dancer for which he was deported n Kenya and convicted of assault in DRC

Koffi Olomide is now coming to perform in South Africa … yah, our silence & leniency on celebrity crimes attract such miscreants pic.twitter.com/f4e0ye7Epk

— Kgopolo (@PhilMphela) June 18, 2019

Stop convicted woman abuser Koffi Olomide performance in South Africa | Awethu – Olomide has assaulted his own dancers, a journalist, and he has been found guilty of sexual assault. He should not perform in SA. Please sign, puff and pass #StopKoffiOlomide https://t.co/45B7L5g1js

— Lebogang Mashile (@lebomashile) June 18, 2019

@shimmybeach

Koffi Olomidé, a congolese singer, has been found guilty of the statutory rape of one of his former dancers when she was 15.
He was handed a two-year suspended jail sentence by a court in France in… https://t.co/NhojScx3Z8

— Rosie Motene- Pan African Queer feminist! 🏳️‍🌈 (@RosieMotene) June 17, 2019

Shimmy Beach Club management was unavailable for comment at the time of writing.

READ NEXT: Alleged rapist castrated, killed by community members after gang rape

(Compiled by Kaunda Selisho)

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