"Wavin' Flag" hitmaker K'naan (born Keinan Abdi Warsame) has been charged with sexual assault in Quebec City, CBC reports.
The following article contains potentially triggering material relating to sexual assault and violence. If you believe you have experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct and are looking for support, consult the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime to find resources in your area.
The rapper is alleged to have sexually assaulted someone between July 16 and July 17, 2010, in a hotel room during Festival d'été de Quebec, where he performed. According to Radio-Canada, the alleged victim is a woman who was in her 20s at that time.
The plaintiff first filed her complaint with Montreal police in May 2022. Then, it was transferred to Quebec City police since the hotel room where the alleged incident took place was within their domain. The case went before court this morning, although Warsame was not present; a preliminary inquiry has been set for April 2025, and the musician's attorney reportedly said that he wants to be tried in English in front of a jury.
Earlier this week, Warsame was in his hometown of Toronto for the SOCAN Awards, where "Wavin' Flag" — initially featured on his 2009 album Troubadour before being recorded "We Are the World"-style by Young Artists for Haiti and chosen as Coca-Cola's promotional anthem for the FIFA World Cup in 2010 — earned the Cultural Impact Award. He also premiered his directorial debut Mother, Mother at TIFF earlier this month.