Jashii takes a hit
Dancehall artiste Jashii is facing the fight of his life.
Fake news that began swirling on social two weeks ago that Jashii had an argument with 45-year-old Omar “Romie” Wright moments before the businessman was shot and killed on June 7, has led to the cancellation of shows, threatening the livelihood and safety of the ‘Born fighter’ deejay and his family.
When Romie was murdered, it was widely rumoured that prior to his killing, he spat in the face of Jashii’s mother, Lorna Henry, and threw water on her before kicking over a pot of soup that she was selling on Shortwood Road. But in an exclusive interview with the Jamaica Observer on Saturday, Henry categorically denied that any altercation took place between herself and Romie. As far as she is concerned, both families share and maintain a good relationship and said for people to even imply that Jashii had anything to do with Romie’s murder is all a plot to tear down her son’s flourishing music career.
Accompanied by his attorneys, King’s Counsel Peter Champagnie and Richard Lynch, Jashii, whose given name is Mluleki Tafari Clarke, turned himself in to the police last week after they had expressed an interest in him in relation to the matter. He was interviewed and released. A relative of Jashii, who cops held as a suspect in Romie’s murder, was also released.
The artiste’s mother bashed vloggers, whom she accused of wantonly spreading false information with impunity.
“The vloggers are setting up my family’s life and Romie’s family’s life. They need to do their research before they take up things on their head and spread it. The only people who know about the rumour are the people spreading it and the vloggers. What they are running with, I don’t know anything about and Jashii don’t know anything about it either. They take this thing to an extreme and I am scared because of the vloggers who tell lies and hoist it like how you hoist a kite.
“Both families are very close. Romie’s mother is Jashii’s Godmother. If Jashii is passing Romie on the street, they hail up each other. Romie’s mother and I grew up in the community. We played together and we never had any problems. Romie calls me ‘Mumma’. He used to use one mop to clean up my place and then he would clean up his businessplace where he used to sell fried food. Him also used to sell June plum and oranges. He was very clean. I just want the people to cut out the nonsense and stop bait up my life and Jashii life. It is not good. Some a dem seh mi pack up and run weh, but I don’t have anywhere to run to. We are tired of it now,” she said.
Jashii’s cousin, Rochelle Gilzene, appealed to the vloggers to stop targeting the young star. She insisted that Jashii is no criminal and described him as a young man who believes in his community of Grant’s Pen in St Andrew and only wants see upliftment for the youth.
“Shows have been cancelled. He has a show in August and the people are saying they can’t have him on the show because of these matters and it is unfair. Corporate entities have wrongfully tried him and this is his means of living. It is wrong. There are a lot of people who use it as an opportunity to jump on it to try and destroy him. Jashii is a born fighter and he is going to rise above this and is going to represent for all the young people in the inner city who want better. The vloggers need to be held accountable. The Government needs to do something to regulate the online platform. People should not be allowed to just say anything and not be held accountable. It affects lives.
“When you put misinformation out there, you cannot take it back. Romie and I were very close, from childhood up to the time of his passing. This has traumatised Jashii to the core. He is holding on and trusting God. I spoke to him and I heard the frustration in his voice. He said every minute is another thing, from one extreme to the next. Mi hear him ask him mother, ‘wah dem want mi fi do, kill myself?’ When mi hear Jashii seh dat, water drop out a mi eye. At 21, so much different things are on his head. Leave him alone and allow him to bloom and grow.”
Jashii’s father, Mervin Clarke, bashed the vloggers for profiting from spreading lies on the Internet.
“All these vloggers who keep mixing up the youth don’t know the true story. Talk the good things weh di youth do. We want to clear him name. They want to carry down the youth career. Dem want to get to the youth, suh dem start with the mother and the youth mother is a loving parent. She shares and everyone loves her. She is no trouble maker. Dem a frustrate the youth. He is a young youth and when all these things a reach him, if him nuh firm, he will get off him head. We have to make sure we be a rock around him,” Clarke said.