The acquittal on the sexual assault is "pronounced with the benefit of the doubt", explained the president of the 7th correctional chamber of the court of appeal of Versailles, evoking in particular "evolving declarations, sometimes contradictory" of the plaintiffs.
On the other hand, the sequestration "there is no doubt", with plaintiffs "deprived of all liberty and constantly monitored" by two accomplices of Koffi Olomide between 2002 and 2006 in a house in the Paris suburbs, where locks had been installed on shutters.
These two Congolese guards, Mbila Kakese and Ogima Tsasa Nduka, were both sentenced to six months in prison with a three-year probationary period.
The complainants "will necessarily be disappointed with the offense of sexual assault since it was for them the most important thing", declared at the end of the deliberation Me David Desgranges, who represents three of the dancers.
"On the other hand, the sequestration was retained" contrary to the judgment in first instance, with interest and consequent damages, estimates the lawyer: Koffi Olomide and his two accomplices must pay from 10,000 to 32,000 euros for each dancer.
The four Congolese women, who lodged a complaint between 2007 and 2013, accused Koffi Olomide of having locked them in a pavilion in the Paris suburbs and of having forced them to have sex with him, on a regular basis for some.
The judgment rendered by the court on Monday is far from the expectations of the general prosecutor's office.
During the trial which was held at the end of October, the prosecution requested eight years in prison against the 65-year-old Franco-Congolese, asking to reverse "the sinking" of the first judgment and to find guilty this "powerful man", star international who now lives in France.
Singer Koffi Olomide arrives at the court in Versailles, near Paris, for his appeal trial, October 25, 2021 Bertrand GUAY AFP / Archives
At first instance, in 2019, the Nanterre court had sentenced him to two years in prison for "sexual assault" on one of the young women, declared a minor at the time of the facts, and had acquitted him of the proceedings concerning the other three.
© 2021 AFP