Munga Honorable Cleared As Crown Drops 2017 Murder Case

Dancehall entertainer Munga Honorable and co-accused Sheridan Gordon left the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston as free men on Friday, sparking celebration among the artiste’s supporters.

Munga, whose given name is Damian Rhoden, had been before the court with Gordon in connection with the 2017 killing of Cleveland Smith at Ackee Walk in St Andrew. Prosecutors told the court they would not be presenting any more evidence, ending the matter after years of public interest and legal attention.

DancehallMag understands that the Crown’s position was affected by concerns about contradictions in the account given by the case’s only eyewitness. That witness, whose testimony was central to the prosecution’s case, finished giving evidence on Thursday after spending several days under examination.

“She wilted under cross examination and we were able to punch holes in her testimony in terms of identification. Her response called in question whether she was even there,” attorney Christopher Townsend told DancehallMag. “Some things were more than ridiculous and out of keeping with common sense.”

The trial had started only the previous week before Friday’s turn of events brought it to an early close. Munga was represented by attorneys Christopher Townsend and Chadwyk Berry. Gordon was defended by King’s Counsel Peter Champagne and attorney Sayeed Bernard.

Supporters of the dancehall artiste reacted with joy after the court outcome, closing a long-running case that had hung over the career of one of the genre’s well-known names.

Townsend said Munga had already returned his focus to recording. “He is in studio now working on a song. This case placed a lot of me mental strain on him as when an artiste is accused of murder, no one wants to hire you and no one is going to book you because there may be problems with traveling to certain markets,” Townsend said.

Townsend also said “Munga is now free to travel”. He added: “The ban is now lifted and we expect great things from him.”