Afrika Bambaataa is widely considered to be one of hip-hop’s founding fathers.

His contributions to the music and culture we enjoy today can’t be denied. He was one of the first breakbeat DJs, he made “Planet Rock,” a song that’s foundational to hip-hop but Afrika has a dark side that has unraveled in recent time.

At least four men have come forward over the past couple of years, claiming they were molested by Bambaataa while they were children. This was while the man was at the peak of his popularity. Bambaataa’s ex-bodyguard has come forward to substantiate those claims, saying the hip-hop legend has abused “hundreds” of children since the late 70’s. Bambaataa has strongly denied the claims but the allegations seem to have stuck. In recent months the Zulu Nation, which he founded, began to disassociate itself from Bambaataa. The group has now disowned its owner and is set to restructure itself under new leadership.

Koffi Olomide did not found soukous or rumba but he’s been instrumental in exporting both sounds and cultures from DRC to the world. What Koffi did found however, is the Quartier Latin International orchestra that gave many notable artists including Fally Ipupa and Ferré Gola an opportunity to make a name for themselves.

But Koffi too has a darker side, on Saturday the singer was deported from Kenya after purportedly kicking a woman at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi the day before. The woman is reportedly a member of his dance troupe and his legal troubles with the Kenyan authorities could have an adverse effect on his ability to perform in Kenya in the future, a country Olomide has performed practically every year for the last 16 years. But the popular singer has flat out denied the accusations, in an interview afterwards, he claimed he had tried to “stop” a “girl who wanted to fight the dancers I came with”. The video paints a different albeit incomplete picture of what happened.

It appears the singer might have had a successful career in football if he had tried out. In 2008 he was again accused of kicking a cameraman from DRC’s private RTGA television station and breaking his camera at a concert in Kinshasa but a reconciliation was later reached. 4 years later,  he was convicted in DRC of assaulting his producer and received a three-month suspended prison sentence. He was also accused of raping 4 of his dancers in France.

Neither Koffi nor Bambaataa have been convicted of any of their most recent offences just yet, Koffi was deported from Kenya before he could go to court on Monday and the statutes of limitation is up on Bambaataa’s alleged offences. However, their reputations are at stake and the mountain of evidence against both men is enough to taint their careers and rightly so; paedophilia and violence against women are vices that should be discouraged in the strongest possible terms. They can defend their names in court later, and I look forward to the proceedings.

In the meantime, the Kenyan government and the Zulu Nation have sent out strong messages by deporting and disowning Kofi and Bambaataa respectively, flaws and criminality should not be given a hiding place behind talent and legendary status.