Dancehall artist Vybz Kartel is reacting to the reports that a massive fire destroyed the law offices of several attorneys who were sharing a building on Duke Street. The Jamaica Observer published a report on the incident on Monday, which the Jamaica Fire Brigade is investigating.
According to the report, the building housed the law offices of at least seven attorneys on Duke Street, including Isat Buchanan and John Clarke.
Buchanan is Vybz Kartel’s main lawyer and was on the team of attorneys who were successful in getting his murder conviction quashed by the Privy Council months ago. Clarke, on the other hand, has represented Kartel’s friend and fellow artist Shawn Campbell, otherwise called Shawn Storm.
According to several reports, the fire reportedly destroyed important documents, including those relating to two high-profile court cases that have been identified so far. The files have been linked to Kartel and the other to alleged gangster Tesha Miller.
According to the Jamaica Fire Brigade, the fire has caused significant damage, destroying filing cabinets, furniture, and other items. The fire was discovered around 2:07 AM, and by that time, it was too late to save anything as the building was already engulfed.
In the meantime, the news of the fire comes just as lawyers for Vybz Kartel filed a habeas corpus application for his release on Monday. The details in the application have not been revealed and the court of appeal will hear arguments on May 29 and 30.
As for Kartel, he commented on the fire on Twitter/X. “Feds bwoy dem bun dung john clark/isat Buchanan office thinking they could destroy the files. Its 2024, Files are stored on cloud u f**kin idiots!” the artist wrote on Instagram.
Vybz Kartel’s lawyer has declined to comment on the fire, but the dancehall legend seemed pretty confident that the incident will not hurt his case.
