Koffi Olomide still an unwanted guest in Kenya, says Interior Ministry

The Interior Ministry says Congolese musician Koffi Olomide remains an unwanted guest in Kenya since he was deported two years ago.

In a video recording shared online on Friday, Olomide confirmed his performance thanking Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya for inviting him to perform at the Devolution Conference slated for April 24.

“Mimi nimeona pia watu wangu wanapenda mziki, nimeleta Koffi Olomide…” confirmed Governor Oparanya in a public rally.

But his yearn for a grand return since his deportation two years ago could be shortlived after the Interior Ministry revealed to Citizen Digital that Koffi Olomide is yet to be forgiven for his “sins.”

Memories of a July, 2016 incident at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, in which the star was caught on camera assaulting his female dancer, have seemingly come back to haunt him.

Interior Ministry spokesperson Mwenda Njoka says following the incident, which saw the “Ultimatum” star deported, the hit-maker needs to apply for revocation of his status as an unwanted person. That process, the ministry says, is yet to begin.

Mr Njoka told Citizen Digital on phone: “The onus is on Koffi Olomide to ask for his status (as a prohibited immigrant) to be lifted. The onus is not us. Koffi, if he won’t regularize his status, would just land on Kenyan soil, and would be taken back to the aeroplane, which brought him, for ejection. Those are international procedures.”

Citizen Digital reached out to Koffi Olomide on phone to enquire if he has applied for regularization of his status, but he referred us to his Kenyan handlers.

“Everything you want to know (about my visit) check in Kenya, in Nairobi, please,” he said.