Vybz Kartel Cries Foul After Fire Destroys His Lawyer’s Office
Dancehall artist Vybz Kartel is crying foul after a shared office building occupied by his attorney, Isat Buchanan, was totally destroyed in a fire, including documents related to his murder case and several others.
Senior Superintendent Patrick Gooden, the Jamaica Fire Brigade divisional commander for Kingston and St Andrew, told the Jamaica Observer that it was impossible to salvage anything in the blaze, which occurred at the Duke Street, Downtown Kingston office building after 2:00 a.m. last Thursday.
“One unit from York Park responded, and when they arrived at the location they realised the building was fully engulfed in flames, which required additional assistance from Trench Town and Rollington Town stations,” Gooden told the newspaper.
“The building was constructed of concrete and steel. A section was covered by slab roofing and another section covered by slab and zinc. It was totally destroyed, and we have not yet determined the cause,” Gooden said.
“It’s approximately four days now but investigators have been there on several occasions trying to get details and trying to get as much evidence that can assist them to identify a cause. One of the things they identified was that the board flooring inside the building was something to pay attention to,” he added.
Although a cause has been determined, Kartel condemned the act as malicious and mocked those supposedly responsible for their ignorance.
“Feds bwoy dem bun dung John Clark/Isat Buchanan office thinking they could destroy the files. It’s 2024, files are stored on cloud u f**kin idiots!” he tweeted on Tuesday.
In March, the UK-based Privy Council overturned the 2014 murder convictions of Kartel and his co-accused and ordered that they be reimbursed for their legal costs. The convictions, which were related to the 2011 murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams, were invalidated due to juror misconduct. The Privy Council also remitted the matter back to the Court of Appeal to decide whether a retrial is warranted.
The Court of Appeal has since scheduled a five-day hearing beginning on June 10, where legal arguments will be presented before it issues a decision.
On Monday, it was reported that Buchanan submitted a habeas corpus application to the Supreme Court, advocating for the deejay’s release.
The Supreme Court adjourned the matter to May 29 and 30 for further deliberation.