Relatives of William Dogbey, killed last September in a car accident involving Koba LaD who was driving under the influence of drugs, blame the rapper for “his lack of consideration” and his “inconsistency”.
In September 2024, rapper Koba LaD had a car accident on the A86 in Créteil (Val-de-Marne), killing his friend, stylist William Dogbey, who was in the passenger seat. Under the influence of drugs, Koba LaD collided with a heavy goods vehicle which was stationary on a gas station ramp.
Since then, the family of the victim, aged 30, says they are “broken by this tragedy” in the columns of Le Parisien. “What’s dramatic is that that evening, when William and Koba came to the house, you could see the satisfaction on their faces, they were happy that the album and the video clip were ready,” says the father by William Dogbey, Luke.
“Two hours after their departure, when we received the famous phone call, the Earth slipped beneath our feet,” he declares.
A phone call that haunted his younger brother Thomas “for a long time”. “Before, it was turning on my thoughts, it was putting pressure on my chest,” he confides, emphasizing that “it’s better than before.”
His sister Sarah says she has “taken medication every day since this event”. “Koba caused so much damage on his own, we can’t imagine. Our birthdays at the end of the year, Christmas… It was hard because we were all together and one was always missing,” notes -she.
“Our pain is increased by his lack of consideration”
Lauriane, William Dogbey’s partner, must now take care of their two children alone, a 6-year-old girl “who shows obvious signs of traumatic shock” and a one-year-old boy. Even if she “faces financial and emotional challenges”, she assures him “daily life will have to rest” “forever” on her shoulders, and “error will no longer be allowed” “because William left. And he left because he trusted a friend.”
If a few days after the accident the victim’s family said they did not feel “anger” towards Koba LaD – as the father then affirmed to the Parisian -, resentment has since appeared. Brother Thomas, who “had empathy” for the rapper “at the beginning” because he “told himself that he was a human being and that he had lost a friend” now points the finger at his attitude in pre-trial detention.
Convictions, prison, fatal accident… the descent into hell of Koba LaD, little rap genius
“When I see that he makes Snapchat posts in the cell where he assures that everything is fine with him, that he makes jokes on the stand during his trial for kidnapping (he was acquitted for this charge but was convicted this Monday to 15 months in prison for violence against his manager, Editor’s note), I really wonder about him”, declares Thomas.
William Dogbey’s companion, Lauriane, deplores for her part that despite the promise of “Koba” made after the tragedy to be “there for his family (of the victim, Editor’s note) until the end of (his) days” , she had “no news”. “Not even a word of apology. Not even a letter or a call via lawyers. (…) Our pain is increased by his lack of consideration towards us and the apparent absence of remorse that he conveys”, assures the mother.
“He didn’t realize what he had done.”
William Dogbey’s family accuses Koba LaD of “minimizing what he did.” Seeing the rapper during a hearing in Paris at the end of September, during which he demanded his release from pre-trial detention, sister Sarah claims to have had “a feeling of disgust”.
“He barely looked at us, he lowered his eyes throughout the hearing. He said he was in mourning, that he had lost a brother. But he minimized what he had done,” assures she said.
“He said, ‘It’s an accident, it happens to everyone.’ He didn’t realize what he had done,” explains Sarah. An opinion shared by Thomas and Luc, who judge Koba LaD “completely inconsistent”.
The criticism is also made against the artists who support the rapper. “Since September, our world has stopped. We try to support each other, to rebuild ourselves… When we see certain artists providing support to Koba as if he were the victim, it makes us angry,” says Thomas. Before adding: “They lack intelligence, humanity, empathy, and wisdom. They don’t know what happened and they take sides. How would they react if it had happened to one of their relatives?”
Sarah even found it “serious” “that the rappers Ninho and Niska showed off a “Free Koba” t-shirt during a concert in November in front of thousands of people.” “I told myself that Koba was not in prison for an injustice, he took the life of a father, a brother, a son. We are trying to survive and every day something new comes to weigh down our morale” , continues the younger sister of William Dogbey.
If she has the “impression” that they will “not be able to grieve in peace”, she “still expects justice to be done” for her brother.
