Following the death of veteran reggae singer Cocoa Tea, family strife has emerged as three of his children named his wife, Malvia Scott, as the reason for their absence at the funeral. The children spoke out against Scott, accusing her of forging marriage documents and betraying the late Jamaican artiste in multiple ways, including infidelity.
Cocoa Tea, a father of eight, passed away on March 11 at a hospital in Broward, Florida, after suffering a cardiac arrest. His funeral was held at The Verandah in Clarendon, Jamaica, where many family members and fans gathered to pay their respects. Among the attendees were Malvia and his daughter, Yackeisha Scott, while Roshaine and her younger brother, Junior, were absent.
Coco Tea’s eldest daughter, Roshaine Scott, reportedly laid out the accusations in a released audio recording while explaining her reasons for skipping his funeral. In the circulating recording, Roshaine Scott seemingly indicated that the family’s internal issues played a major role in her absence.
“My father was a good person, a great icon and a great legend, but my father did not make the right choice as far as choosing a partner for his wife and am so cut up about it,” she said. Roshaine accused Malvia of having multiple affairs and using her father’s money for her own benefit, including to support her lovers. “First and foremost, the wife teck di money and teck di money and do weh shi want fi do wid it and mine har man dem,” she alleged.
She added that she not only heard that Malvia was taking his money from family sources, but Coco Tea also confided in her about money being diverted from his account. Roshaine also said that one of Malvia’s lovers has even moved into Coco Tea’s house to live with her on the heels of his passing. Where the funeral expenses were concerned, she said other family members covered the cost, while Malvia did not contribute despite taking Coco Tea’s money.
Following the recording, Cocoa Tea’s two eldest children, Calvin and Junior Scott, came forward with additional claims against Malvia. They blamed Malvia for her absence, explaining that they did not receive the death certificate to secure a travel permit. Calvin agreed that Malvia did not financially support his father.
According to Calvin, his father’s friend revealed that while hospitalised, Cocoa Tea wanted to return home, but his wife claimed she had moved on. Calvin further asserted that Malvia was not legally married to his father, having merely purchased a marriage certificate without a proper ceremony.
