Last month, former music industry executive Ronald Savage accused NY hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa of multiple counts of sexual abuse. “If something like that happened, why you never went to none of them (sic)?” Savage said he made a decision to speak out to help change New York’s statute of limitations, which now prevent sexual abuse victims from pursuing criminal charges or civil penalties after turning 23.
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Afrika Bambaataa has denied sexually abusing boys, after facing a series of allegations.
One of the men, Ronald Savage, said he was 14 when Bambaataa fondled him at his Bronx apartment.
Asked about Savage’s claims, Bambaataa stated, “I ain’t touched this brother whatsoever (sic)”. “When I went with him on tour in the states, I’d stay in one room, and he would have boys in the room with him…”
The allegations have spurred the Zulu Nation to remove him from his leadership role, and to bring in new chiefs and place focus on victims of abuse, the Daily News reported.
In a press statement, Bambaataa promptly refuted Savage’s claims, saying, “These allegations are baseless and are a cowardly attempt to tarnish my reputation and legacy in hip-hop at this time”.
In an exclusive interview with Lisa Evers of Fox 5 news, Afrika unequivocally denied all sexual abuse allegations.
“What is the motivation, what is the agenda?” he said.
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“It’s hard to say what this many people are thinking”, he says. “And stop all this type of craziness that they been trying to put by attacking me”, he said. You know all the people around me. Some parts are saying it could be shakeups. “I wanted him to know how much he damaged me growing up”. He also again slammed New York’s statute of limitations, which prevents victims of child abuse from pressing charges after they turn 23.
