Zacharie Bababaswe, was once considered one of Koffi's closest friends. He is a Congolese MP and politician, and without him, Koffi Olomide would probably be a free man in his native Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Koffi Olomide assaulted one of his female dancers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport when he touched down in Nairobi. Possibly Koffi thought his woes were over when he was deported to Kinshasa by the Kenyan government. This left the promoter of his tour, Jules Nsana, counting losses and working out the logistics to refund the money some fans had paid for tickets online and in advance. Visiting Nairobi for the Laugh Industry show by comedian Churchill at the Carnivore Grounds.
Upon touching down in Congo, the campaign to have him arrested had been triggered by Congolese MP Zacharie Bababaswe and women's rights groups. Koffi’s former friend turned foe, Zacharie Bababaswe, started pushing for the prosecution of the veteran singer.
Zacharie Bababaswe is a Congressman (Congo’s equivalent of a parliamentarian in Kenya) in Congo. The congressman and Koffi Olomide used to be good friends until they fell out after the musician and Cindy Le Coeur, his lead singer, were accused of belittling him in their songs. This therefore turned their sweet friendship into bitterness towards each other.
Zacharie started a campaign to have Koffi arrested immediately after the veteran musician was deported to Congo. He filed a petition on behalf of the Congolese public to get the musician punished for assault. In a televised press conference, the congressman wondered why Olomide was “still walking scot-free, and yet there was video evidence that he assaulted his dancer in Kenya?” Koffi was arrested on July 26th, 2016, and taken to court where a Kinshasa judge hurriedly sentenced him to 18 months in prison.
A protege of Kof fi, the mercurial Fally lpupa, apologized to Kenyan fans for the ugly incident involving his mentor. He said: "Kof fi is like my father and we all make mistakes. Please forgive him.." Legendary Tshala Muana also appealed for Koffi to be pleaded as he had publicly apologized over the incident, an apology that was publicly televised. His lawyer later failed to get him released on bail after the prosecutor asked for a postponement of the hearing. He was later released on the 30th and his sentence was reduced to three months which he was bound to serve. This was considered a national scandal and it led to the presidential intervention, Koffi was set free by presidential pardon following the presidential intervention after the circus surrounding the case. This brought closure to the case and the parties involved were left to reconcile thereafter and put an end to the existing saga.