Overview:
A controversial statue honoring Haitian Konpa singer Richard Jean Hérard, higher often known as Richie, was beheaded. The motive is unknown, however the statue is controversial as a result of putting in statues of dwelling people in public locations violates Haiti’s structure.
CAP-HAÏTIEN — Unidentified people vandalized the controversial statue of the lead singer of the favored Konpa band Klass, Richard Jean Hérard, higher often known as Richie, at Place Carénage in Cap-Haïtien late within the night on Jan. 2. The statue was beheaded nearly every week after it was revealed.
The statue was the topic of controversy on social media as a result of it’s forbidden to put in a statue of somebody who’s alive in a public place, based on Article 7 of the Haitian Constitution. Nonetheless, the motive for the vandalism stays unknown.
“This hurts me rather a lot as a result of that is an artist like Richard Jean Hérard, an icon in Haitian music, somebody who elevated our music, and look what occurred,” Dobay Kerby, a painter, mentioned as he stood close to the remaining items of the statue depicting Richard’s shoulders.
“It is a disgrace for the neighborhood, for the nation,” Kerby, 22, added. “This doesn’t please me in any respect.”
It’s beginning to grow to be a sample for unknown people to vandalize unconstitutional statues of dwelling personages. A statue of Wideline Pierre, spokesperson for the canal in Ouanaminthe, was additionally beheaded in January 2024. It’s unknown whether or not the state will implement measures to forestall teams from inserting statues of dwelling people in public locations.
“This wasn’t authorized however the one who broke it did even worse. They need to cease this or individuals will hold breaking statues.”
Edner Celipha, civil engineer
A gaggle of followers of Jean Hérard’s band, Klass, in collaboration with Cap-Haïtien’s City Corridor, orchestrated the development of the statue to honor his “immense contribution” to Haitian music. The City Corridor has not responded to The Haitian Occasions’ interview request for this text.
Initially from Cap-Haïtien, Jean Hérard is a singer, drummer, maestro, composer, and producer. Jean Hérard, 55, additionally helped a number of singers develop within the early levels of their careers, together with Reginald Cangé. He’s undeniably one of many prime contributors to Konpa’s improvement in Haiti. Jean Hérard gained stardom throughout his time with Zenglen within the Nineteen Nineties and 2000s. He left the band in 2011 and joined Klass.
Jean Hérard was current when the statue was revealed on Dec. 28, thanking his followers and inspiring Haitians to do what they had been meant to do. He has but to touch upon the vandalism of his statue. The Haitian Occasions reached out to Jean Hérard’s group for an interview, however he has not been accessible but.
As of Friday afternoon, some small items of the statue had been nonetheless on the bottom at Place Carénage, and the again of the statue has an space that’s peeling off, hinting that the unidentified people struck it there with pressure.
About each resident passing by stopped to stare on the headless statue. Lots of them lamented.
“It was unlawful for positive, however vandalizing it doesn’t make sense,” Edner Celipha, a civil engineer, mentioned. “They didn’t need to do it that approach. The authorities ought to have been those to take it down.”
Celipha, 48, would love the police to research the vandalism in order that the perpetrators may be punished. The police have but to announce whether or not they’ll start an investigation.
“This wasn’t authorized, however the one who broke it did even worse,” Celipha mentioned. “They need to cease this, or individuals will hold breaking statues.”