Released on bail and under supervised release while awaiting his new trial in February, Buju Banton reportedly asked Judge Anthony Porcelli for permission to perform at a concert in Miami on 26 December. The judge rejected the request, considering the risk of Gargamel taking flight too great.
Strictly confined to his home, only allowed to leave to see his doctor or his lawyer, Buju Banton had expressed the wish to get back on stage. It is easy to see why: according to his lawyer, the surveillance company that follows him step by step 24 hours a day, at his own expense, costs him $20,000 a month. Not to mention the legal fees incurred since last year. When his release on bail was being negotiated, against a sum of $250,000, it was Stephen Marley who made things possible by putting up his Florida house as security.