Reggae artist Fantan Mojah is set to appear in court for breaching the Disaster Risk Management Act.
Since the Disaster Risk Management and Noise Abatement Act has been implemented, its penalties have befallen many Jamaican artists. Fantan Mojah, who is most popularly known for his 2005 reggae hit “Hail The King,” is the latest entertainer to be charged for breaching the DRMA.
On Saturday, April 10, an all-island curfew was in place starting at noon, and police pulled over Mojah, who had been traveling home from the studio after curfew hours. According to the Jamaica Observer, the reggae singer was stopped on Red Hills Road at around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. The curfew lasted from 12 p.m. on Saturday to 5:00 a.m. on Monday morning.
“Dem [the police] stopped me along Red Hills Road… Dem coulda be lenient with me, as mi ah go home after work… People have fi do dem work,” Fantan Mojah reportedly told the publication earlier this week. “I’m very loyal to my country. Whenever dem ask fi do anything, mi do it. Ah just the time run out inna the studio. Dem say mi ah fi go court so mi ah go court.”
Fantan Mojah, whose real name is Owen Moncrieffe, is scheduled to appear in the St. Andrew Parish Court on May 18. The legislation surrounding the Disaster Risk Management Act states that anyone in violation of the terms could be jailed for a year or fined up to $1 million in Jamaican currency.
Beenie Man was also recently charged with breaching the DRMA after being accused of hosting a party in St. Elizabeth in November 2020 during the lockdown. He appeared in the St. Elizabeth Resident Magistrate Court in early February, where he pled not guilty and is slated to return on April 19.
