Reggae icon Bunny Wailer will be laid to rest this weekend, June 18.
The news was shared by Wailer’s son Asadenaki Livingston. Even though he has indicated that the funeral will take place this weekend, he has not given a specific date or time as he hopes to avoid breaching any of Jamaica’s stringent Covid-19 prevention protocols.
There has been some confusion over Jah B’s (Bunny Wailer) estate since his passing, and Livingston has said that many of the people causing the confusion were not family members. Even though this was not mentioned as one of the reasons for the secretive funeral arrangements, it could have been an influencing factor.
He spoke with the Jamaica Observer and remained mysterious about the arrangements to come. “It’ll be a private funeral for family members. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, members of the public can still view the proceedings on ‘theofficialbunnywailer’ Facebook and IG platforms,” he said.
In April, Livingston took to Facebook to offer a lengthy explanation about the payment of Wailer’s outstanding medical fees and the apparent confusion over his estate.
“Since the passing of our father, Hon. Neville O’riley Livingston OM OJ a.k.a. Bunny Wailer, there have been numerous reports about alleged disputes on his estate and who could do what on his behalf. We, his children, have been working as a unit, to resolve all matters relating to our father’s estate,” he posted.
He added: “Various other individuals, non-family members for the most, have tried to sabotage and manipulate the situation with misleading media reports. As an added insult, other outside relatives, none of whom have offered any support or condolences since our father’s passing, have been coming to our residence unannounced, taking photos and videos throughout our home.”
Wailer died at the age of 73-years-old on March 2. He had been hospitalised with a stroke. He is recognised as one of the founders of the Wailers and a musical icon. His passing was mounted by fans around the world. The “Reincarnated Souls” singer soared to the heights of the genre and won three Grammy’s during his lifetime. Sadly, he was also never reunited with his love, Jean Watt, affectionately known as Sister Jean. They had been a couple for 50 years before she went missing on May 23, 2020.
Asadenaki, who is is a film director and videographer, released a documentary about four days following the death of his father. The documentary focused on the disappearance of Sister Jean and the close relationship that the two shared. The family used the documentary to reveal that Sister Jean had suffered from symptoms of dementia for about 15 years.
The documentary is called WAILnSOUL: Searching for Jean Watt, the wife of Bunny Wailer. It also touches on the loss of both members of the family in the span of a year. Even though the family still holds out hope that they will someday be reunited with their matriarch. The 32-minute documentary was uploaded to YouTube on March 6 and was a co-production of Tuff Gang Collective and Solomonic Productions.
In it, he also describes the impact that the losses have had on the family while describing the love that his father and Sister Jean shared.
“My father and Sister Jean’s relationship was not ideal but it was theirs. In their early years, they tried but could not have children together based on professional diagnosis… Sister Jean still stood up in her motherly role as my father, like his father, has many children. Even as children we were very much aware of my father’s allegiance to his ever-faithful wife Sister Jean who nurtured us as a real mother would,” he said.
