Former Haitian Senator Jacques Sauveur Jean has to undergo surgery after accident

FORT-LIBERTE – Jacques Sauveur Jean, widely known as the musician “Jackito” and former Haitian senator, broke his left arm in a serious accident on the morning of September 6. He is currently awaiting surgery at a local hospital.

The accident occurred on his property in Ferrier, a municipality in northeastern Haiti, where Jean fell from a roof during a routine exercise, according to a family member.

The former senator's sister-in-law, Rose Garcia Cadet, said the singer and entrepreneur was immediately transported and admitted to the private hospital Ouanaminthe Community Medical Center (OCMC) to receive the necessary care for his injury.

“We thank the concerned people who come to check the situation,” Cadet said in a video posted on the Ouanaminthe Info Plus Facebook account. “Although rumors are circulating, it is true that he has fallen. [Jackito] from the roof of a building and is being treated in hospital. We will hold a press conference soon, possibly tomorrow or the day after, to update everyone on his condition,” she assured.

The accident reportedly occurred due to a disagreement with Moïse Joseph, chairman of the Ounaminthe irrigation canal construction committee, who, along with several community members, had attempted to park trucks full of rubble in front of Jean's farm because of the poor road conditions.

Jean's supporters criticized Joseph and said the altercation contributed to the accident. Businessman Jean, who had expressed concerns about mystical attacks on himself and his family, renewed his faith after the accident. “Because of these mystical attacks, I always feel vulnerable, which is why I took my children away from Haiti,” said the former senator.

Joseph, also a pastor, initiated measures to improve road conditions, which had been made worse by a flood and a mountain of mud following heavy rains.

The chairman of the irrigation canal committee sharply criticized the Haitian singer, who was a senator during the presidency of the late Jovenel Moise, for failing to pave the road next to his house. “He was a senator, but he didn't even build the road in front of his house,” Joseph noted.

The road leading to farmers' fields is a point of contention among local residents, who have often expressed their dissatisfaction with government authorities.

Many community members expressed mixed feelings about Jean. They noted his significant investments in the region since 2010, but criticized his lack of charitable donations. In response, Jean said: “Before I invested in Merande, [Ferrier’s locality]the area has been neglected. Entrepreneurs who invest in a company are not just there to hand out alms.”

Following the accident, Jean's surgery for his broken left arm, originally scheduled for the evening of September 8, was postponed until later that week for unknown reasons.

He remains a prominent figure in Haiti's agricultural sector, particularly in his home department of the Northeast. He is known for his work in building the Ouanaminthe irrigation canal, rice cultivation in the Maribaroux Plain, and his influence on Haiti's political and Haitian music scene.

Jean, 57, began his musical career at 16 as a charismatic and charming pop singer. At 20, he produced one of his biggest hits, “Lanmou Doudou.” In 2003, he adopted the stage name “Jackito” and switched to traditional Haitian konpa music. In 2015, he put his music career on hold to run for one of the three Senate seats in the Northeast department under the Parti Haïtien Tèt Kale (PHTK), led by his friend, fellow musician and politician and former Haitian President (2011-2016) Michel Joseph Martelly.

On September 13, 2021, following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, the former senator officially left the PHTK, which he co-founded, to form his new political party, the Artists and Peasants Party (PAP). At the time, he stated in the press that he could no longer support a party suspected of involvement in the assassination of a president, alluding to the assassination of Moïse. However, in a letter to the party's leader, Liné Balthazar, Jean announced his resignation from his post as co-founder for personal reasons.

Related