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The Congolese rhumba legend Koffi Olomidé’s performance in Windhoek last weekend attracted a diverse crowd and even a special appearance by president Hage Geingob.

Olomidé, real name Antoine Mumba, performed in Namibia for the first time since 2005.

Despite recent calls by activists for the show to be cancelled due to allegations of sexual abuse and holding his dancers against their will, event organisers say the show was a success.

Nani Trading spokesperson Johanna Shiweda said although they received positive comments from the general public, they are unhappy with a local artist’s behaviour at the show.

“We are very disappointed with Exit, he behaved unprocedurally and completely disrespectful towards the show. He refused to perform in the time slot that he was given, only for us to find out later he was booked at another event,” she said.

Shiweda said Exit should have communicated so that they could have arranged a different time slot on the night.

“Instead of going on social media indicating that he was disrespected, Exit should have spoken to us instead of lying to the public. We paid him and he signed an agreement with us. We will take this up further with him, so maybe next time he respects the agreement,” Shiweda said.

“We are unhappy about it, we paid him his full fees and we will take it up with him legally because he is bound by the agreement.”

Shiweda said Gazza did not make it because he did not agree to the terms and fees presented to him.

“In terms of Gazza, he has not signed an agreement with us, we did not book him for the show. We had agreed to pay all artists a certain amount which we have arranged the way they do it through Tate Buti, but he did not agree to it,” she said.

On his Twitter page, Exit said he was pulling out of the event due to disrespect.

“Apologies, team Rockaz, because of disrespect, the Oshakati boys are pulling out of the Congolese show. If you Rockaz and you know it shows your patriotism at Okahandja, spend your money wisely this weekend,” he said.

Despite this, fans were impressed with the organisation of the show, which saw local artists bringing their best.

Local performing artists included DJ Yessonia, DJ Siya, Top Cheri, King Tee Dee, Tate Buti, Adora, Tswazi, DJ Vuyo, PDK and more.

Unomengi Kauapirura, who attended the show and is a fan, described the event as a beautiful night.

“You know when Koffi said goodbye and got off stage, I felt like crying. It was beautiful, it was peaceful, and he really delivered,” she said.

“He performed my favourite … the very first song was ‘Effrakata’. Even if you can’t dance, you can dance to Koffi’s music. The girls were beautiful, and the band looked amazing,” she said.