Buju Banton on Friday morning berated members of the Jamaican Police Force for, he said, allowing themselves to be used as a state intermediary to oppress the Jamaican people.

According to Buju, he was particularly saddened by the fact that even though the police were left hungry on duty during the lockdown days in August – which was proof that the authorities did not care for their well-being – the The same police sided with the Ministry of National Security, which caused them “famine”.

“All blood policemen, I will pay oonu taxes and before that, support and help people, wi si oonu abused Jamaicans and beat Jamaicans. Oonu nuh si wha day oonu couldn’t get food. It gets worse because we don’t know ourselves, ”Buju said on his live Instagram feed on Friday morning.

The Voices of Jamaica the artist was referring to media reports in late August that members of the police were unhappy that there was no provision allowing them to purchase meals while on duty during the lockdown days, after Prime Minister Andrew Holness has imposed a seven-day absence of movement aimed at curbing the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases across the island.

Referring to the recent brutality, arrests and heavy fines imposed on Jamaicans who have been convicted of violating the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA), Buju said this indicates the police have gone mad.

“The whole mandate of our security forces is to protect the population; our own brothers, sisters, sons, daughters join these organizations, but they have become thugs, ”he said. “You fight the people, kill the people and they don’t know they are not immune from what is to come. And soon, and very soon, they will have to stand with the people. But they are busy making the enemy of the people when they should be making friends of the people, because it’s more us than them.

On Tuesday, August 31, the Jamaica Observer reported that the head of the Jamaica Federation of Police, Corporal Rohan James, described the foodless situation as a “travesty” that had affected police officers across the island, and that ‘they felt disrespectful.

At the time, the Federation President claimed that Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson and National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang had been made aware of the situation, but their responses were “Unsatisfactory”.

He also stressed that the thrift stores and canteens of the various police stations were closed on the days of confinement.

James said police expected authorities to “make arrangements with the various restaurants to provide meals.”

“We cannot have a lockdown and the police are on duty and cannot access anything to eat. This is unacceptable; it’s something that should be put in place for operational efficiency, ”he told the newspaper.

“You can’t have hungry cops out there and the boldness is that… you expect law enforcement officers to incur additional costs at state expense,” James also added.

The president also noted that the situation had lowered the morale of the police officers who felt that their work and their value were not valued by the government.

The Gleaner newspaper in a separate report, had also reported that base members had become “reluctant” after social assistance was cut for service staff during the coronavirus shutdown, “with only one meal a day for patrolling the cops while others fended for themselves. “