Kartel dines with PM Gonsalves

Jamaica and global dancehall superstar Vybz Kartel is planning a series of comeback concerts in the region starting in late December but before then, it appears that he wants wrap up treatment for Graves’ disease and St. Vincent could be the place where he gets treated.

Adidja Palmer flew to St. Vincent on a private jet at the weekend along with his wife and former West Indies star all rounder Marlon Samuels.

The St. Lucia Times confirmed previous reports this week that Kartel is considering seeking treatment for the immune weakening disease in St. Vincent as he prepares himself for a series of comeback concerts commencing on New Year’s Eve in native Jamaica.

Kartel, Samuels and the wife dined with Vincentian Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves on Sunday night where the possibility of him seeking treatment was broached. “Well, they said it’s called Graves’ disease, but we’re not ready for the grave. So, we’ll just call it hyperthyroidism. A matter of fact, it’s not only treatable, it curable.”

The island is known to have an experienced endocrinologist with expertise in treating issues which affects the thyroid gland among other issues.

Fans of dancehall star Vybz Kartel stand outside the Supreme Court which ruled that Kartel and his co-defendants are to remain behind bars pending a decision by the Court of Appeals on whether they should be retried for murder, in Kingston, Jamaica May 30, 2024.REUTERS/Gilbert Bellamy

Jailed for 13 years for the murder of an associate in a row over the return of an illegal gun, Kartel has not been able to perform since then even though his music has been topping the charts while he was behind bars. He and three other associates were at the end of last month freed by the Jamaican appeals court of murder.

His attorneys had taken the case to the British Privy Council for determination after jury tampering had been discovered in his original trial. The council sent the case back to Jamaican judges for them to decide whether a new trial was necessary or whether the four should be freed. He was able to walk out of the correctional center in Jamaica to wild celebrations involving thousands of fans as heavily armed police and soldiers looked on.

Both Kartel and PM Gonsalves had shared social media posts of their link up in Kingstown in recent days.