Brother Zeb Imprisoned in Dubai

8th November 2007 @ 10:25am

Just over a month ago it was reported that a notable New Zealand musician had been detained in Dubai following the discovery of cannabis on his person. On Sunday it emerged that the musician is the former guitarist from Che Fu's band The Krates - Brian 'Brother Zeb' Taite. The 48 year old Brother Zeb is a prominent dread within the Aotearoa Rastafari bredren.

He was passing through transit in Dubai on route back to Aotearoa after a trip to Ethiopia where he had been celebrating the African millennium. It was initially reported that he had been found in possession of 25 grams of cannabis but it now seems that the amount was a mere 0.7 grams. The minuscule amount was reportedly found in the form of crumbs scattered through the pockets of two pairs of his pants and his jacket.

Despite this Zeb has accepted that he has broken the law and has pleaded guilty to possession for personal use. Zeb has written to United Arab Emirate authorities seeking a pardon and deportation. However under The United Arab Emirate's draconian legal system it appears Brother Zeb may face a minimum of four years imprisonment.

According to the New Zealand consulate in Dubai they are doing everything in their power to help Zeb, however it seems that in light of Dubai's zero tolerance drug policy it is largely out of their hands. Earlier this year a 22 year old British man was jailed for four years after a few specks of hashish totaling 0.11 grams were found in his luggage.

Furthermore a United Nations official who had been working with farmers in Afghanistan to help find alternatives to opium crops was imprisoned in Dubai for drug trafficking after he was found to possess two poppy bulbs. The bulbs had reportedly been harvested several years earlier and thus could not have contained any opium.

Brother Zeb, a member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel NZ bredren, is a righteous man who as well as contributing strongly to the development of the NZ roots scene has been notable for his heartical work with at-risk Aotearoa youths. Furthermore Zeb is a father to thirteen children, including three who are fostered.

As members of the Aotearoa reggae community, I think it is crucial for us to do our utmost to raise awareness for the plight of Brother Zeb as his situation has received only limited media attention.

We can help Zeb by writing letters to the editors of our newspapers and by ringing radio talkback shows in order to illuminate the issue. Furthermore we can express our concerns to the New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (enquiries@mfat.co.nz). New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates have many economic ties - think Emirates Team New Zealand. New Zealand's imports from the UAE totaled over 477 million dollars and the UAE and New Zealand have recently begun working towards the establishment of a free trade agreement. Hopefully we can use these close economic ties to pressure the UAE to pardon Zeb.  

Forward movement Aotearoa, 

 

Naram   

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