Reggae legend Buju Banton and Minister of Transportation Daryl Vaz went back and forth Thursday over alleged stolen hurricane relief supplies. The entertainer exposed what he considered to be a “broken” system, which left him frustrated and pointing a finger at the Norman Manley Airport in a now viral video.
Buju called for accountability and transparency at Jamaica’s ports after he reportedly discovered that relief barrels he sent to Jamaica to aid Hurricane Melissa victims were allegedly tampered with. His comments led to him and Vaz each presenting conflicting accounts of what happened after the supplies landed in Kingston.
Buju Banton, who partnered with pilot Captain Barrington Irving and the Experience Aviation team to deliver a plane full of aid from South Florida, had several missing items, including a stove and a Starlink device.
He also shared an image of a half-empty barrel; he wrote, “How can I be happy about this? It breaks my heart.
The things are being stolen at the very port. Why? How can we be better?” His frustration struck a chord with supporters online, some of whom claimed they had similar experiences. The accusatory post prompted an immediate response from Minister Vaz, who said an investigation had begun and that his ministry was acting “in the interest of transparency”.
According to Vaz, the shipment was cleared on arrival and went “straight from the plane on the tarmac to the receiving truck.” He emphasised that there was no point during the process where the goods were moved off-site or unsealed. He also noted that the official cargo manifest did not list a stove or Starlink device among the items sent. Images taken during unloading, he said, showed all pallets intact and sealed as received.
However, Buju Banton rejected the minister’s explanation, insisting that the shipment was in fact moved to “an area we had no sight of” where it sat for hours. He maintained that seals were broken and items removed. He expressed that he had no reason to lie or “create mischief” and pointed out that many others have also suffered from the system. “This is about Jamaica, not about PNP or JLP,” he wrote, pushing back against what he described as efforts to politicise the issue.
