Zulu Nation appears to be distancing itself from Afrika Bambaataa following the recent child molestation allegations. While Bambaataa is technically the founder of Zulu Nation, in a statement released the hip-hop organization referenced a change in leadership and that they were moving towards a call for support of victims of abuse, rape and molestation. The founder, Bambaataa, has been surrounded with allegations of abuse as of late and can’t seem to shake them.
“As part of this restructure ALL accused parties and those accused of covering up the current allegations of child molestation have been removed and have stepped down from their current positions,” Zulu Nation wrote on its website. The statement does not mention Bambaataa specifically, but it is implied.
“As an organization we are in a very difficult position because we are being to ask to condemn one of our founders based on testimony through social media alone,” the statement further reads. “We cannot do this. We also cannot dismiss the comments of parties asserting that they have been harmed. We have a duty to search for truth.”
Bambaataa’s lawyer Charles Tucker Jr. recounted the statement in Rolling Stone with, “Bambaataa has not been part of the leadership for years. At the end of the day we still have unsubstantiated claims from alleged victims who all have seemed to be more focused on self promotion, sensationalism, revenge, and some form of payment.”
The allegations against Bambaataa began with former music industry executive and current political activist Ronald Savage coming forward to say that he had been abused by the hip-hop mogul as a teenager. Following Savage’s accusation, three more men came forward to say that they had also been molested by Bambaataa in the late 1980s, when they were in the early teens.
Several of the accusers were anonymous, but one named Hassan Campbell gave an interview to the NY Daily News and detailed the abuse, citing that Bambaataa had taken advantage of him. According to the interview, the rapper had given him a place to stay due to troubles at home and even money. He claims that Bambaataa had molested his several times between the ages of 12 and 13.
Another accuser who spoke to the NY Daily News has claimed that Bambaataa had abused him five times in 1980.
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