Buju Banton

The artiste, whose real name is Mark Myrie, applied to the court for the separation of the trials for himself, Ian Thomas and James Mack, on the basis it is what could be causing the delay.

However, the court denied the request and ruled in favor of the prosecution which argued that defendants who are jointly indicted should be tried together, especially in the case on conspiracy charges.

The prosecution claimed trying the men separately “would impair both the efficiency and the fairness of the criminal justice system to require, in all these cases of joint crimes where incriminating statements exist, that prosecutors bring separate proceedings, presenting the same evidence again and again, requiring victims and witnesses to repeat the inconvenience (and sometimes trauma) of testifying."

The trial, which has been delayed several times, is now set to begin in September.

Buju has been behind bars since December of last year when he was charged with conspiracy to distribute five kilos of cocaine.