Canadian rapper K'naan charged with sexual assault following arrest in Quebec City
Canadian rapper K’naan has been charged with sexual assault after being arrested by police in Quebec City.
The 47-year-old singer, whose real name is Keinaan Abdi Warsame, is behind the 2009 hit Wavin' Flag, which was a promotional anthem during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
He was arrested on Monday, according to a Quebec City police spokesperson.
The following day, he was in Toronto to receive the SOCAN cultural impact award for the global resonance of Wavin' Flag.
According to the charge sheet, he is accused of sexually assaulting someone between July 16 and 17, 2010, in the provincial capital. Those dates coincide with the musician's appearance at Quebec City's popular Festival d'été de Québec.
The case was before the court on Thursday and a preliminary inquiry is scheduled for April 23, 2025.
CTV News' attempt to reach the artist was not successful.
K'naan was born in Somalia and moved to the U.S. as a teenager, living in New York and then Toronto. He now lives in New York.
He is a four-time Juno Award winner. In February 2024, he also won his first Grammy Award in the Best Song For Social Change category for Refugee, a song he co-wrote with Steve McEwan, and Gerald Eaton.
With files from The Canadian Press
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