[UPDATED] Chief Sec on murder of Trinibad artiste: Young men need help

Tobago dancehall artiste N'Kosi Bovell, also known as Fari Dan, has been murdered.

Bovell was liming with a group of friends shortly before 11pm on Sunday, at Dutch Fort Restaurant and Bar in Scarborough, when two gunmen approached. Bovell, whose back was turned to the killers, was shot multiple times from close range. The gunmen ran away in the direction they had come from.

Footage of the murder was captured by CCTV.

Fari Dan had earned a following on the Trinibad music scene, with over 100,000 views on YouTube on a number of tracks. Some of his more popular hits included 6 Neva Die and Gingy Fly.

THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine condemned the murder on Tobago Updates morning show.

He said he recently met with the various security arms on the island for a Tobago Security Council meeting. He said a long time was spent strategising and “looking at where we are going in terms of crime on the island.” He said every murder in Tobago is one far too much.

“That’s not the Tobago we know. Every murder is shocking and alarming to us and I don’t ever want us to become desensitised... It is something that we have treat with rather quickly.”

Crime, he said, is partly economics and mostly a social issue that must be addressed with a concerted effort with particular attention to young men.

In a statement, the management of Dutch Fort Restaurant and Bar extended condolences to Bovell’s family, friends and fans.

It said: “Fari Dan was killed last night in what can only be described as a senseless killing by assailants too coward to sit and resolve any dispute they may have had like civilised persons."

The management called on police to purse the killers so they can be prosecuted as "such uncivilised brutality ought to find no place in our society."

It promised to review and increase its "meticulous security measures" to ensure patrons are safe.

Discussing crime in general, Augustine said, "When we look at the spate of robberies, we saw some patterns, we saw the targeting of credit unions, we saw the targeting of a singular security company, we saw the targeting of their firearms as in stealing their firearms more than stealing money, and so that in itself presents a challenge.”

He said he has received some assurance from head of the Tobago police.

“ACP Nurse assured me and assured the team that they’re well on the way to solving four of those robberies, as in confident that four is already solved which mean that they have in hindsight those that are guilty or culpable of those criminal acts.”

He said more than that, the island needs to be pre-emptive in terms of how crime and criminality is treated with, noting that it really starts with how children are raised.

“If you look at the statistics, its clear that our males, our boys are targeted more than any other and so we have to double down on how we treat with our young men in ensuring that they turn out to be worthwhile citizens and good citizens of this island.”

He said the assembly cannot do it alone.

“We cannot pull into play what the THA is doing about crime. We have to pull into play what we’re all doing, particularly our churches, our youth clubs, our sports clubs. More than that, we have to come up with a strategy to treat with those young men that are unattached, as I like to call them – those who don’t participate in any club, any church.

"Sometimes we like to preach to the choir, who is always there as part of the social institutions. We have to target those who just come out and lime on the blocks and take our programmes to them and sit and talk with them to find ways to get them on the straight and narrow.”

This story was originally published with the title "Tobago artiste Fari Dan murdered" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

Tobago artiste N'Kosi Bovell, also known as Fari Dan, has been murdered.

Bovell was liming with a group of friends around 9pm on Sunday, near Dutch Fort Restaurant and Bar in Scarborough, when two gunmen approached. Bovell, whose back was turned to the killers, was shot multiple times from close range. The gunmen ran away in the direction they had come from.

Footage of the murder was captured by CCTV.

Fari Dan had earned a following on the Trinibad music scene, with over 100,000 views on YouTube on a number of tracks.

Investigations are continuing.