Canadian rapper K’naan (given name Keinan Abdi Warsame), was charged with sexual assault in Quebec on Thursday in connection with an alleged incident from 2010 in the province’s capital city.
The province’s Crown prosecutor office confirmed an arrest warrant was issued late last week for 47-year-old Warsame.
The singer, who delivered the 2009 smash-hit song Wavin’ Flag, is alleged to have sexually assaulted someone between July 16 and 17, 2010, in Quebec City. At the time, Warsame was in the province to perform at Festival d’été de Québec.
Warsame was not present at the hearing Thursday morning and his lawyer appeared on his behalf, according to the Crown.
The preliminary inquiry in the case is set for April 23, 2025.
Warsame was born in Somalia, but grew up in Toronto, Ont. The musician now lives in New York City.
His song Wavin’ Flag pushed Warsame to international success as after it was selected as Coca-Cola’s promotional anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. His track Refugee, released in 2023, earned Warsame the Recording Academy’s Best Song for Social Change Award.
— with files from Global News’ Sarah Do Couto