Koffi Olomide spends fourth day in police custody

Koffi Olomide speaks to a journalist on arrival at JKIA in Nairobi on July 22, 2016. Kenya’s Ambassador to DR Congo said there was no confirmation of the musician’s release from custody. PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Koffi, who committed the offence at the JKIA in Nairobi on Friday last week, soon after arriving for a concert, was arrested at his palatial residence in Kinshasa, handcuffed and driven to the court.
  • Fellow Congolese musician Lufombe Gode said a number of singers had visited him at Makala Prison.

Congolese crooner Koffi Olomide on Friday spent his fourth day in custody at the Makala Prison, where he is being held after being charged for assaulting one of his dancers.

Koffi, who committed the offence at the JKIA in Nairobi on Friday last week, soon after arriving for a concert, was arrested at his palatial residence in Kinshasa, handcuffed and driven to the court.

He had arrived back home in Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday last week after he spent a night in the police cells at JKIA, before his deportation.

Koffi could be handed a minimum of three months in prison, if convicted, but appeals have been mounting for the superstar to be pardoned and released.

Among the people who have made pleas for the musician to be set free is dancer Pamela, who was kicked when they arrived at the airport.

There was speculation earlier Friday about the flamboyant musician’s whereabouts, with rumours of his alleged release being spread on social media.

However, according to reports from Kinshasa, an attempt by his lawyers to have him bailed on Friday was postponed.

Speaking to the Saturday Nation, Kenya’s Ambassador to DR Congo, Dr George Masafu, said there was no confirmation of the musician’s release from prison custody.

“We have been on the lookout on developments of Olomide and so far we haven’t seen anything new,” he said.

Fellow Congolese musician Lufombe Gode said a number of singers had visited him at Makala Prison.

Meanwhile, the dancer at the center of the debacle, Pamela Eyengo, on Wednesday teamed up with her colleagues in Koffi’s Quarter Latin International Band to make a passionate appeal for DR Congo First Lady, Mama Olive Lema Kabila, to intervene and have the superstar released.

In the video clip that has been circulating wildly on social media, the dancer pleads for innocence.