Sibling brawl mars Prince Buster’s funeral in Jamaica....The Icon Was Buried at May Pen Cemetry

BY SIMONE MORGAN-LINDO Observer staff reporter morgans@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, September 25, 2016 

In sharp contrast to the accepted principle of Islam being a religion that preaches peace, the sons of late ska pioneer Prince Buster marred his funeral yesterday when they engaged in a verbal brawl that almost became physical outside the Islamic Council of Jamaica on Camp Road in St Andrew.

The uproar occurred just after Sheikh Musa Tijani concluded the brief Muslim funeral rites.

Ishaq Ali (right) is being restrained during the uproar
 at the Muslim Funeral Rites for his late father, musician
 Prince Buster, yesterday. (Photos: Garfield Robinson)

At the centre of the fracas, which saw the siblings hurling insults at each other, was the final resting place of their late father.

The ska legend had apparently asked to be buried at May Pen Cemetery in his West Kingston community. During the verbal clash, the entertainer’s son, Saladin Ali, was heard saying that his father made the request when he was extremely ill and was not thinking straight.

However, his younger brother, Kareem Ali, later told theJamaica Observer at May Pen Cemetery that he was simply respecting his father’s wishes.

The casket bearing the remains of Prince Buster is
being lowered into the earth at May Pen Cemetery yesterday.

“It was my father’s wish to be buried here and we had to honour it,” he explained. “We granted his wish and purchased two plots for him and my mother. Others wanted him to be buried at Dovecot or National Heroes Park, but he came here in 2014 in a wheelchair and requested that his remains be buried in West Kingston. How could we not respect his wishes?”

All signs of the dispute had disappeared by the time the funeral procession got to May Pen Cemetery, with well-wishers giving some of their fondest memories of the entertainer. As shovels of earth concealed the pine coffin, the small gathering, which included Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange and musician Bongo Herman, gave their renditions of some of Prince Buster’s most popular hits.

Members of the Islamic Council inside the mosque conducting
 the ceremony over the remains of late ska singer Prince Buster.

Minister Grange later hailed the late ‘Godfather of Ska’ as not only an extraordinary musicain, but one who was very true to his roots.

“Prince Buster has been laid to rest and has gone to rest with the angels. He stuck with his faith and his family, which included all of West Kingston. He was true to his roots, and where we are standing now is one of the most historic sites in the English-speaking Caribbean,” she said.

The minister also stated that plans are underway to renovate and develop the cemetery into a memorial garden.

“We are very passionate about the development, as we will never turn our backs on West Kingston and the people. We are all good enough to be buried here. Some prominent Jamaicans are buried here,” she said. more