The Ministry of Interior has said that Congolese musician Koffi Olomide remains unwelcome in Kenya following his dramatic deportation from the country about two years ago.

The Lingala maestro had confirmed through a video recording on Friday that he would be performing at the Devolution Conference scheduled to begin on April 24th after an invite by Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya.

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

However, speaking to Citizen Digital, Interior Ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka said the musician will not be allowed to enter Kenya, unless he applies for revocation of his status as an unwanted person. 

Mwenda Njoka said: “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.”

Kofi was kicked out of the country on July 23rd, 2016 after he was caught on tape physically assaulting one of his female dancers at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). He had been scheduled to attend a concert in Nairobi.

A video of the musician kicking one of his dancers went viral online, forcing Kenyan authorities to deport him after an outcry from social media users.

He was put on a flight to Kinshasa after spending the night at JKIA, and was arrested upon landing in DRC. He was handed a 18-month jail sentence over the incident, but was later released on bail.