Vybz Kartel guilty of murder

For days people protested in front of the courtroom in Kingston; "Free the world boss!", the fans shouted. Kartel (38) is hugely popular in Jamaica and his supporters never abandoned him during his imprisonment.  On the contrary, they prefer to regard him as a hero to the people en look up to him. On the one hand, he glorifies violence and is an ardent supporter of bleaching ( whitening the skin with various crèmes), and on the other hand, he donates a substantial share of his profit to projects in his neighborhood. The fact that he is now being found guilty of murder therefore causes a lot of frustration with dancehall fans who are more than eager to pardon the murder in order to win back their hero. Even though there are a lot of fans who dismiss the 'world boss' for his actions, opinions remain divided. When the verdict was pronounced, police had to hold back the crowd outside the courtroom, but apparently some 200 fans still broke through the barricades.

Along with Vybz Kartel, three more men were sentenced (Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones, André St John) and only the fifth companion Shane Williams was found innocent. The trial lasted for 65 days and is therefore the longest trial in Jamaican history.

It is a heavily discussed court case in the Jamaican and reggae media surrounded by a great deal of controversy. The defense already announced they will appeal against the decision of the jury, which consisted of 11 members. Moreover, one member of the jury was arrested just before the verdict as he had tried to bribe the president.

Vybz Kartel has been in Kingston prison since September 2011 and will most likely spend a lot more time there in the future. The announcement of the sentence will be March the 27th, we will keep you posted.