Ninjaman Speaks on Jamaica Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation And Being a Man of Peace In Powerful Letter From Prison to PM Holness

Kemar TomlinsonNovember 21, 2023

Incarcerated veteran dancehall deejay Ninjaman offers guidance and solutions to those in authority regarding Jamaica’s penial system in another of his potent letters. The entertainer addresses the letter directly to the Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Opposition leader, the Security Minister, and to whom it may concern.

In the audio version of his letter, read by a female narrator, Jojo Mac, Ninjaman points to the lack of rehabilitation offered to inmates, saying it will only be beneficial for Jamaica if the rehabilitation process is improved. He suggested that once convicts have served their time behind bars, those individuals should be offered meaningful assistance to help integrate them back into society.

“It is imperative that the powers that be see them (prisoners) for who they were before they became the people who got involved with crimes or the situations that place them in this system. The men and women who are incarcerated should be given some hope that when they return to society they will have the options, or more than likely, a great number of them will return to the very thing that got them locked up in the first place maybe worst,” Ninjaman outlined.

Also, Ninjaman suggested that, as a general rule, physically fit prisoners serving time should be put to work to help fund the prisons. He went on to state that a percentage from the proceeds of their labour could be set aside in an account, that if they get released, it could help with a fresh start or be delivered to their family.

The deejay offered to use his knowledge and personal relations skills to lead the proposal once the relative authorities handed him the green light. He continued his letter by also addressing the elderly prisoners who he suggests should be released and sent home because of their poor health and their lack of ability to be of a negative influence on Jamaican society.

Listen to the full letter below: