Who cares if Koffi Olomide never performs here again?

Koffi Olomide (centre) might never perform again in Kenya if his visa was permanently revoked with his deportation. Good, because nothing of value has been lost. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • With new hits like the wildly popular 'Selfie', he has been able to appeal to a younger generation, extending his fan base to kids young enough to be his grandchildren. At 60 and still going strong, he has shown a tenacity and sticking around-ness that younger artistes can only dream of.
  • He might no longer be welcome in France, but he has always been welcome in Africa. In March, he headlined a famously sold-out Koroga Festival in Nairobi.

Koffi Olomide is of a different generation. He was a big deal back when there weren’t that many big deals.

Kings and presidents have wined and dined him and he has entertained them all. With new hits like the wildly popular 'Selfie', he has been able to appeal to a younger generation, extending his fan base to kids young enough to be his grandchildren. At 60 and still going strong, he has shown a tenacity and sticking around-ness that younger artistes can only dream of.

His deportation from Kenya last Saturday, a week after his birthday, must have shocked the man, not least because it came from an African country. On the continent, he has always enjoyed a god-like status and a fanatical following. Specifically, Antoine Christophe Agbepa Mumba has performed in Kenya countless times in big concerts that almost no Kenyan artiste can rival. He might no longer be welcome in France, but he has always been welcome in Africa. In March, he headlined a famously sold-out Koroga Festival in Nairobi.

We booked the soukous singer, dancer, composer and producer to join us on set for #theTrend to talk about his impressive career and promote his show that weekend. As we were doing that week’s show next door at the Sarova Stanley, we arranged for a premium room to allow him some comfort when he arrived. After all, the interview would be happening shortly after he landed at the airport and we wanted to allow him a little time to freshen up and change before turning up on live national television. When he landed in Nairobi shortly after 9pm, we were cautiously optimistic that he would make his appointment with us.

Big stars have been known to cancel interviews at the last minute or fail to show up for concerts altogether and give flimsy excuses like missed flights or sudden illnesses. Yes, this still happens in 2016 even with supposedly watertight contracts and the possibility of a social media backlash for no-shows. The night began to get more interesting when he wouldn’t leave the airport quickly to make it for the interview. Apparently, he was waiting for his entire entourage to be cleared before he could leave. Used to getting disappointed at the eleventh hour, producer Kevin Gitau warned me that he might “waste” us, so we made arrangements to take up the extra time.

I think you can see where this is heading: he did not show up. There was no apology either. He is a megastar and he can do whatever he wants. We were only slightly crestfallen but hardly surprised; these things come with the territory. Sometime between landing in Nairobi and dragging his feet to leave Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, he had decided he didn’t want to do the interview any more.

You expect this kind of behaviour from volatile new-age stars younger than him but not from an old hand like him. His mentor, Papa Wemba, was exceedingly gracious and charming when he came on the show in 2014, two years before he died. More recently, Manu Dibango stole the hearts of the whole country when he chatted comfortably with me past 10pm even at his advanced age of 82.

As I watched video of Koffi’s little incident at JKIA, it struck me as something not entirely out of character. He has been convicted of assault before, has a history of violent behaviour and has had anger management classes recommended.  In 2012, he was convicted of assaulting his producer and handed a three-month suspended sentence.

When Zambia cancelled three shows that were scheduled for this week, they probably took into account that time he kicked a photojournalist in the country four years ago. It is around that same time that another case came up in France, where his former backup dancers accused him of rape and illegal confinement. He hasn’t seen the inside of prison for any of these cases partly due to insufficient evidence or reluctance to pursue the cases, but mostly because of who he is.

A prominent lawyer rightly diagnosed on Twitter that Koffi was a foul man. An elderly gentleman who would change his mind at a moment’s notice and break a contract is not worth his word. He has been performing for almost 40 years and has enjoyed international recognition for almost that long.

He must have started to think he was invincible — especially in Africa — and could get away with anything. The realisation that he’s not as indomitable must have hit him like a tonne of bricks this past weekend if his repeated apologies are anything to go by. Koffi Olomide might never perform again in Kenya if his visa was permanently revoked with his deportation. Good, because nothing of value has been lost.

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Malik Obama is voting for Trump? Ha! 

PRESIDENT OBAMA’S HALF-BROTHER Malik has never been shy about soaking in the spotlight and the afterglow of Barack’s achievements. His attempts at elective politics have ended dismally, like when he lost the governor’s race for Siaya County in 2013.

“Wow, President Obama’s brother, Malik, just announced that he is voting for me,” tweeted Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sunday. “Was probably treated badly by president-like everybody else!”

Except that’s not true and he probably can’t even vote in America. They used to have a great relationship and were best men at each other’s weddings. He went on to marry two other wives, including a teenager in 2011.

“I like Donald Trump because he speaks from the heart,“ Malik Obama told The New York Post from his home in Kogelo. “Make America Great Again is a great slogan. I would like to meet him.” Malik asked me for money when we requested for an interview a few days before his brother landed here last year. He has previously sold personal correspondence between the president and the family. He says he’s disappointed in Obama’s term but he might just be reaching out to Trump to see how he can cash in.

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Pokémon Go craze baffling 

THERE’S A LITTLE AUGMENTED reality game that has people in America going crazy. And when the United States obsesses about something, the rest of the world pretty much does as well. Way too much time has been spent by seemingly professional reporters putting their journalism degrees to poor use by talking about a game that might well be a passing cloud.

Two Canadian teenagers in the province of Alberta even walked past the US border into Montana without realising it as they were busy staring into their glowing rectangles. Yes, there have been a few deaths. Because the game overlays its interface onto actual maps, it is encouraging a lot more people to go out there and find whatever things they are looking for.

Seeing all the buzz about it is mildly amusing, but mostly just annoying. I haven’t bothered downloading it because it is not yet officially available in Kenya,- but mostly because I have a life.