The final tribute was spoiled by some fans. Incidents disrupted, Saturday, August 31, in Abidjan, the farewell of tens of thousands of admirers to the Ivorian singer DJ Arafat, one of the most popular artists of West Africa, died in a motorcycle accident at 33 years old.

>> Read: Ivory Coast pays last tribute to DJ Arafat, the king of the coupé-décalé

While the exceptional tribute ceremony, both full of joy and emotion, had gone smoothly throughout the night in the largest stadium in the country, fans spoiled the party in the morning by opening the grave and the singer's coffin shortly after burial.

On photos and videos posted on social networks, we could see a crowd of young, agitated and vociferous, who took pictures of his body.

"We wanted to see the body of our idol before the closure of the tomb," said a fan to an AFP journalist.

Police officers guarding the grave were overwhelmed by the crowd who could not follow the ceremony at the stadium, a police source said.

Sketched around the cemetery

Previously, clashes erupted around the cemetery between the police and fans unhappy to be kept away from the burial, which took place in the privacy.

Around noon, troubles were still going on in Adjamé, according to a security source and an AFP journalist who saw barricades and burning tires in an artery leading to the cemetery.

During the night of musical homage to the king of the "coupé-décalé", many African stars have sung on stage to salute his memory: Davido, Sidiki Diabate, Fally Ipupa, Serge Beynaud ...

"Daishinkan", for his fans (in reference to a comic superhero), died on August 12 from a motorcycle accident in Abidjan. His fast-paced music, both genre and attitude, was born in 2003 in Ivorian clubs and became popular throughout Africa.

Trained on the job

After a night of music and dance, the body of the singer arrived at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny stadium at dawn, for a final goodbye, greeted by the applause of the crowd.

Some 6,500 policemen had been deployed to ensure the security of the ceremony, broadcast live on public radio and television and on giant screens.

Born from a renowned sound engineer father and a singer-mother, DJ Arafat trained himself on the job. DJ in the bush of Princesse Street in Yopougon, the big place of the festival in Abidjan, he had pierced with "Jonathan" in 2003, before stringing the tubes for 15 years: "Kpangor" (2005), Djessimidjeka (2012), Maplorly (2015), Dosabado (2018).

DJ Arafat was named "Best Artist of the Year" at the Coupe-décalé Awards in 2016 and 2017. In 2012, he was also named "Best African Artist" at the Kora Music Awards, a pan-African musical award.

With AFP