Culture
JAM | Feb 21, 2021

Colonel Currie sounds abeng against ‘fake Maroon’ LA Lewis

Gavin Riley

Gavin Riley / Our Today

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Colonel Richard Currie, newly elected leader of the sovereign Maroon state of Accompong. (Photo: Twitter @AccompongNews)

Newly elected Colonel of the state of Accompong, Richard Currie, is reminding the Jamaican public that controversial musician-turned-‘spiritualist’ LA Lewis does not represent the Maroon village in any capacity nor is he authorised to carry out transactions on its behalf.

Currie in a series of tweets on Sunday (February 21), warned that Lewis’ self-proclaimed title of secretary of state and paramount chief, as well as the Nyon-ko-pong Maroons he so ‘leads’—are not recognised under the 1738 treaty that established four official settlements and could find himself forcibly removed from Accompong on his return.

The treaty, signed by the colonial British to end the Maroon war, gave credence to the existence of Accompong Town, Moore Town, Charles Town and Scott’s Hall in rural Jamaica.

“Caveat Emptor: Horace Lewis a.k.a L.A. Lewis is NOT a government official of #Accompong nor is he recognized via our records as a citizen of #Accompong. This individual has no delegation of authority to transact business for the State nor bestow titles of nobility. #SoundDiAbeng,” Currie explained.

Controversial-deejay-turned-Maroon leader? LA Lewis speaks on popular entertainment programme On Stage, which premiered on January 30. (Photo: YouTube.com)

“Furthermore, Mr Lewis’ self-proclaimed title and tribe are NOT recognized by the Sovereign State of #Accompong. Mr Lewis should cease and desist his confusion in #Maroon territory or find himself being escorted under heavy restriction. #SoundDiAbeng,” the Accompong Colonel added.

Chief Currie’s statement comes amid renewed reports of LA Lewis selling ‘Maroon passports’ to unsuspecting persons as well as his continued association by proxy with the Accompong village.

In a December 2020 interview, former Accompong Colonel Ferron Williams labelled Lewis as a “troublemaker” and threatened to have the failed deejay publicly flogged.

“We have thrown him out of Accompong Town three times in the past, and if he is caught in the community again, he will be tried under Maroon laws and, if found guilty, he will be subjected to a flogging with the cat-o’-nine, which remains part of our Maroon laws and traditions,” Williams told the Jamaica Gleaner.

With a new leader, it seems Lewis has returned to further sow seeds of confusion if reports by Accompong News are to believed.

According to the Maroon-news outlet, Lewis was recently seen in a social media video drinking in one of the town’s bars.

“In recent times, LA Lewis has referred to himself as the paramount chief of Nyon-ko-pong and its diaspora, which leads to confusion as it gives the impression a link to the state of Accompong. In a social media video, Lewis can be seen having fun in a bar in Accompong on a visit he made to the Maroon territory,” Accompong News reported on its Facebook page.

LA Lewis and his Nyankapong Maroons stormed sections of St Catherine, in a moved he descirbed as “seeking recognition”. (Photo: YouTube.com)

Lewis and his Nyon-ko-pong Maroons, who staged a demonstration in St Catherine last December, claimed that the sect has existed for hundreds of years and was now seeking to reassert itself.

Without proof, Lewis, with an outstanding court-ordered psychiatric evaluation, alleged that his group was based on Constant Spring Road in Kingston and has “international membership”.

The 42-year-old Richard Currie was elected as the new Accompong Colonel on Thursday, becoming an internet sensation as Jamaican women swooned over his regal demeanour and oozing masculinity.

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