Dancehall artiste, Vybz Kartel, has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams. 

Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, is to serve 35 years before he becomes eligible for parole. 

He and the three other men convicted for Lizard’s murder were each given life sentences a short while ago by Justice Lennox Campbell. 

Adidja Palmer – LIFE IN PRISON (35 years before eligible for parole) 
Shawn ‘Shawn Storm’ Campbell – LIFE IN PRISON (25 years before eligible for parole) 
Kahira Jones – LIFE IN PRISON (25 years before eligible for parole) 
Andre St John – LIFE IN PRISON (30 years before eligible for parole) 

POLICE had to quell unruly fans outside the Supreme Court in Kingston on March 13th, after a jury pronounced Adidja “Vybz Kartel” Palmer (pictured) guilty of murder. Although the death penalty is unlikely to be applied, the self-proclaimed “World Boss” of Jamaican music faces up to 50 years in prison when he is sentenced on March 27th.

Along with three associates, Mr Palmer was found guilty of butchering Clive “Lizard” Williams in August 2011, for failing to return two guns. (His lawyers say he will appeal.) He has been behind bars since September 2011, charged originally with two separate murders. In July last year, he was found not guilty of murdering a 27-year old music promoter, Barrington “Bossy” Burton. The “Lizard” trial started in November, and this time he was less fortunate.

AN expert from telecoms giant Digicel testified on Friday that he was unable to say whether text messages recovered by the police were sent from devices owned by murder accused Vybz Kartel or his co-accused.

Mario Ghantous Assaad, Digicel's group chief technology officer, testified under cross-examination in the Home Circuit Court that it was possible for a SIM card to be cloned.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - The murder trial involving embattled dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel and his co-accused continues today in the Home Circuit Court.

Vybz Kartel (real name Adidja Palmer), Shawn 'Shawn Storm' Campbell, Shane Williams, Andre St John, and Kahira Jones are being tried for the murder Clive 'Lizard' Williams on August 16, 2011. All the men belong to the 'Gaza Empire', which is based in Portmore, St Catherine.

Amid Vybz Kartel's legal battles, there comes even more news from the 'Gaza' camp as the 2007-formed Portmore Empire has been disbanded. Shortly after his much-publicised fallout with Alliance head honcho Bounty Killer, and his exit from the group, Vybz Kartel looked to his hometown of Portmore, St Catherine, to raise his own musical force, which would later be aptly titled the Portmore Empire.

At the time of its origin, the group consisted of mainly young artistes like Blak Ryno (now Ryno), Craig Dennis (deceased), Omeil, Lisa Hype (now Lisa Hyper), Nuclear, Dosa Medicine, Shawn Storm, and Deva Bratt, who was touted to be Kartel's right hand and the one who was "leading out the Empire". A few fallouts and scandals later with artistes like Deva Bratt, Lisa Hyper, Gaza Kim (now Kym), Jah Vinchi, and Ryno, the size of the group has dwindled.

In recent days, the Empire came to boast acts like Popcaan, Gaza Slim, Sheba, Gaza Indu, Shawn Storm, and Tommy Lee. However, in a recent release sent to The STAR, Adidjahiem Records announced news of the disbanding with a statement from incarcerated boss, Adidja 'Vybz Kartel' Palmer.

It read: "Dancehall fans worldwide, it is with great regret that I, Adidja Palmer, have decided to disband the Portmore Empire. These artistes have been under the Adidjahiem leadership for years, where they have honed their craft and made their mark, and as such, are well on their way to becoming major forces in dancehall." It continued: "They have reached a level where they are more capable of taking on their careers by themselves, and it would be unfair to them, based on the limited resources of Adidjahiem Records, and the current legal woes of the Adidjahiem CEO, and team members. I wish them the best, and I am confident that they will live up to my expectations. In the future, Adidjahiem will continue to bring out new acts and groom them for stardom. Thank you."

It also stated that members of the Portmore Empire, Vanessa 'Gaza Slim' Saddler and Leroy 'Tommy Lee' Russell are moving on with their careers under a newly formed label, PG 13. "PG 13 is the new name right now. a just deh so di ting deh, and that's all mi haffi say," When pressed as to how she felt since the group has now been dissolved, Gaza Slim said she had no comments and would only be focusing her attention on the new PG 13 label. In similar manner, Tommy Lee said PG 13 was where he would now be based. "A PG 13 me say straight. A dat me a say," Both artistes have been part of the Portmore Empire since 2010. The 'gaza prefect', Popcaan, who rose to the heights of fame under the guidance of Palmer, has been doing well for himself. Efforts to contact him, however, since Kartel's incarceration proved futile.

The other standing member, Shawn Storm, was whisked away by the authorities as he is said to be implicated in the legal woes with Kartel.