BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THIS Weekend we bring you a special edition of Juicy. Due to the recent incidents surrounding local Rap star Kwame ‘Dagah’ Samuel, the interviewee of last week’s “Juicy With Suelika”, we have decided to give Samuel an opportunity to explain what transpired between he and his ex-girlfriend.
From his crazy fall in Nevis to his ex-girlfriend taking him to court for maintenance of their eight-year-old daughter, we all would agree that Samuel had an unforgettable weekend.
His ex-girlfriend also gave her side of the story in this week’s special edition of Juicy With Suelika- He says…she says!
What would have been a great weekend for Samuel, as he was performing back to back, turned out to be an unfortunate one.
The artiste, who usually ‘reps’ his city, first performed in Nevis at the Liberation Sting Concert that headlined Jamaican Dancehall artiste Busy Signal on Friday, September 18, and secondly in St. Kitts at the Prime Minister’s Independence Peace Concert that also featured Jamaican artistes I-Wayne, Bugle and Wayne Wonder.
While singing ‘I rep my City’ at the Liberation Sting, Samuel decided to climbed onto some speakers during his performance. Unknowingly to the artiste, the speakers were not secured and he went tumbling down along with the speakers.
“I didn’t feel bad about falling,” he told SKNVibes exclusively. “At the time I was performing, Busy Signal was arriving at the event and that would have definitely taken the attention away from me, so the fall kept the attention on me.”
After the fall Samuel picked himself up, dusted off and tried to continue his performance. However, the sound system was affected by the fall and the organisers called on him to end his performance.
Samuel was seen walking around the stage shouting, “I bet you guys gonna remember me now.”
He said: “I would like to apologise to those that felt that I almost mashed the show up though. I also apologised to the organiser, Ibal, because he was upset at what happened, but I will continue to climb speakers during a performance…that’s what I do.”
His next performance was at the Peace Concert held at the Verchild’s High School Playing Field, where he was arrested by police immediately after his departure from the stage.
His arrest was the result of a summons by his ex-girlfriend and mother of his daughter Kitana, for maintenance of the child.
Tammy Ponde, who lived in Antigua for a number of years but was born in Montserrat and now resides in St. Kitts, is upset that Samuel is acting like he is “father of the year” when he is not taking care of their daughter.
The 33-year-old woman stormed into SKNVibes office quite upset as she was made aware of last weekend’s Juicy With Suelika-Dagah feature, in which their daughter’s name was mentioned.
Ponde told SKNVibes that she and Samuel met during one of her visits to St. Kitts for participation in the National Carnival and that he subsequently paid her visits in Antigua.
When Ponde became pregnant she informed Samuel, who she said told her that he wanted them to be together because he did not grow up with his mother.
Ponde subsequently left Antigua and came to St. Kitts.
“Things were good for a little while. I moved there in April and he and his sister threw me out in May, and I used to be sleeping down the Terminal on a bench.
“I was homeless and had no place to go. Many nights people would find place for me to rest my head. All this happened while I was pregnant and it was only pride and shame why I didn’t return to Antigua right away because I left their grand and boastful that I was going to be with my boyfriend,” she said.
Ponde however stated that she was eventually rescued by a lady named Andrea Samuel [no-relation to Dagah].
“She went to school with my sister. She’s from Montserrat and was working in St. Kitts, and she said to me she couldn’t believe I was here,” Ponde said.
The woman said that Samuel and his sister did not believe that he was the father of her child, but after its birth there was no need for paternity test as the child came out looking exactly like him.
She said that from 2001-2003 Samuel did not support his daughter.
She also said that in 2002 he asked her for EC$300 for him to make a record.
“I said to him, ‘You gonna borrow money from me and you owe me money for child support?’ But I gave him because he had me believing he was getting a record deal, and he told me if he made it our daughter will as well,” she said.
Ponde claims that Samuel never repaid her and the first time they went before the Magistrate’s Court was in 2003.
“He claimed that I am a bad mother and I don’t let him see the child, and we have been going court from since 2003 until now,” she said.
She also said that Samuel travels quite often, does not provide information on the collection of her daughter’s maintenance and is usually late with payment. Therefore, she recently summoned him and they were scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, September 10 but he did not show up.
Ponde said the police were unable to track him down and that whenever they visited the home of his girlfriend she would tell them he is not there.
“I don’t run behind him for the money but not because I don’t run behind him doesn’t mean he must not face his responsibilities. I want him to stop acting like he’s the number one father and stop using Kitana to establish himself as some kind of role model. Let him gain success on his own merit,” she said.
“It isn’t my intentions to bring down anybody, but if a man is succeeding and he says he has been successful in travelling and so on, he should maintain his daughter,” she said.
Samuel said that Ponde has something against him and that she is trying to assassinate his character and create confusion.
“But I’m a peaceful man, and it’s like because I travel a lot she’s hating and I do support my kid, the books will tell you that,” he said.
Samuel admitted that there were times when he would be late with child support payment, because sometimes “things happen” and he would try and explain to her that payment would be late.
“She would go to her lawyer if I’m late, and it’s like she would rather see me go to jail than for me to pay the money. I am always there for my daughter and she’s (Ponde) bitter and trying to bring me down,” he said.
Samuel said that when Ponde came to live with them while she was pregnant, his sister looked out for her but that she is disrespectful and has no manners, which caused his sister to tell him she wanted her out of the house.
“She disrespected my sister. Nobody kicked her out…it was all her doing,” he said.
He said that Ponde is a negative woman who is trying to bring him down, and that she wanted to embarrass him last weekend.
“I’m still going to do my thing. The truth will come out, nobody likes being around her but I love my kid and I’ll be there for her,” he said.
Ponde told SKNVibes that the last time Samuel financially supported his daughter was on May 30 and he has not visited the child since July 5.
“I’m not heartless. If he tells me he would be late with payment I wouldn’t pay attention to him, because whether he pays or not I still have to make sure I feed my child. I don’t hate him, I hate what he’s doing by not showing interest in his child,” she said.
