Dear Editor,

My prayers are with Buju Banton and his family as he suffers in an American jailhouse. Perhaps the ‘Gargamel’ will be inspired by Jah to write even more powerful lyrics as a result of this ordeal but this letter is to question whether or not the Jamaican Government has done anything to help Buju. Attorney David Markus made it very clear that Mr Mark “Buju Banton” Myrie was entrapped by US authorities and the stench of such entrapment rises to high heaven, given the circumstances outlined in the double trial of Mr Myrie in Florida. Did the Jamaican government learn anything from the unjust imprisonment of National Hero Marcus Mosiah Garvey in the said USA?

Buju’s lyrics make him second only to Bob Marley as a Jamaican music icon and the Government should show to Buju, his family and the world that Jamaica has the guts to stand up for its national treasures. The US justice system is infamously unjust and American history confirms that the system is built on racism against blacks. It appears that Buju Banton was a victim of both US racism and US pro-homosexuality. Yes, Buju displayed much stupidity by allowing himself to be found anywhere near the white man’s poison called cocaine, but in these days of global US usage of PSYOPS (psychological operations), and given the facts disclosed at the trials, it is clear that Buju was set up.

The good news is that murdering the messenger has never killed the message. Buju’s anti-gay universal anthem of Boom-Bye-Bye will always flourish. Homosexuality is unnatural and ungodly and increased practice will lead only to total destruction as in Sodom and Gomorrah. Period. The Golding Government must be commended for its firm stance against sodomy, and that is the more reason why they should help Buju Banton in some way even as his attorneys appeal the unjust convictions.

Desmond “Jah Marcus” Rogers

Rocky Point, Clarendon