Chaka Zulu, a music executive and longtime manager of rapper Ludacris, turned himself in at the Fulton County Jail on Sept. 13. Zulu, whose real name is Ahmed Obafemi, is charged with murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and simple battery.
As Blavity previously reported, Obafemi was named a suspect in a June shooting that left one person dead and two others, including himself, injured.
The shooting occurred in the parking lot of an Atlanta restaurant, APT 4B. According to CNN, officers arrived at the scene on June 26 at about 11:35 p.m., when they found three men with gunshot wounds. All three were taken to a hospital, where one person, Artez Jamil Benton, died of his injuries.
Obafemi’s legal team stood on the grounds of self-defense after the June shooting. Surveillance footage of the altercation has since been released, and the video has left many questioning the validity of the charges against Obafemi.
Instagram user @Shanaehall1 posted a breakdown of the footage.
She captioned the video, “Correction: ADP Charged Chaka, NOT the DA.”
“I pray that @atlantapolice and @fultoncountyda can see that APD made a mistake! Men lie woman lie, the footage doesn’t lie! Chaka Zulu was trying to prevent the situation from escalating, and the four men decided viciously attack him,” she continued.
“Artez Benton, the young college graduate that was shot by Chaka can be seen straddled over Chaka punching him in the face, while the other men stomped him in the head and kicked him,” she wrote. “HOW CAN HE BE CHARGED WITH MURDER WHEN HE WAS BEING ATTACKED & shot in the back by the big guy in the video? HOW??”
In the video, Hall starts by questioning the charges after Obafemi can be seen initially getting attacked by a group of, then, unidentified men.
“I’m trying to figure out how all of these law enforcement officers and DA’s and everyone who is supposed to know the law, watched a video of a 52-year-old man being jumped by four men in a stand-your-ground state and charged him with murder?” she questioned.
Hall continued to break down the actions seen in the footage. And identified a group of five men waiting for Obafemi as he prepares to walk through the parking lot.
She indicates one who seems to “have an issue with Chaka” as “standing and waiting by the corner for Chaka” while another man is seen walking toward him from another area.
Then, one unidentified man approaches Obafemi with the others watching.
Hall indicates that the man who confronted Obafemi had his hand on his hip “as if he had a handgun.”
“Chaka attempts to stop the man from pulling out whatever he has his hand on and pushes him onto the car to get him to stop,” she said. “This is when the other men run up and begin to punch and stomp Chaka.”
“So I am trying to figure out how Chaka is the one being arrested for murder when he was the one being attacked?” she continued.
The video shows that the individuals who attacked Obafemi continue to assault him as he struggles to get back to his feet.
On Sunday, Gabe Banks, the legal representative for Obafemi, released a statement on his official Instagram account.
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“Mr. Chaka Zulu, a beloved son of the City of Atlanta, is disappointed in the Atlanta Police Department’s decision to bring charges against him surrounding the shooting that occurred in June 2022,” he wrote. “A close review of all the evidence, including the surveillance footage and eyewitness interviews, reveals that Mr. Zulu was attacked and jumped from behind by a gang of at least four individuals (sadly including the decedent) and was forced to defend himself after this gang repeatedly stomped, punched and kicked him while he was on the ground in a defenseless posture.”
“Mr. Zulu was shot in the back during the shooting and nearly lost his life, and is still recovering from the nearly fatal injuries he sustained that evening,” he continued. “Mr. Zulu was at his place of business that might and had every reason to defend himself. In an attempt to save his life, Mr. Zulu lawfully discharged his weapon in self-defense, a weapon that he is licensed to carry. Mr. Zulu fully cooperated with law enforcement officials and their investigation, and voluntarily turned himself in once he learned of the arrest warrants. Mr. Zulu remains confident that his name will be cleared of all charges through the judicial process. It is not lost on Mr. Zulu that someone lost his life, but had Mr. Zulu not lawfully defended himself, Mr. Zulu would have been killed that night.”
Banks added that Chaka Zula “will not be commenting” on the matter. And also “asks for privacy during this time.”
Fulton County Jail records show that Obafemi was released the same day of his arrest after posting a $200,000 bond.
