Singer Clifford Dumé still missing, was not deported to Haiti, close friend says

CAP-HAITIEN—A close friend of Haitian singer Clifford Dumé has denied the rumor that he was deported from the Dominican Republic to Haiti. The 22-year-old singer’s whereabouts are still unknown, the friend said. Dumé was reported missing on Aug. 25 in Santo Domingo, the DR capital city.

“No, he’s not in Haiti,” Dumé’s longtime friend, who preferred to remain anonymous, said. “If he were in Haiti, he would’ve called us to confirm that so we could stop going nuts. We live in the same place with him. We heard about him being in Haiti from other people’s mouths.”

The Haitian Times has contacted Wadson Dumé, the younger brother of the missing Haitian singer, but he declined to comment on rumors that the rising star might have been deported to Haiti by Dominican immigration authorities.

Wadson Dumé was the first family member to publicly report the singer as missing. He stated that his brother disappeared after leaving home on Sunday morning to buy Coke at a nearby store. He described his brother being left without his phone and wearing pajamas and slippers. 

The younger Dumé announced his brother’s disappearance in an Instagram video posted on the singer’s account on the evening of Aug 25.

“I need to know where Clifford is,” Wadson Dumé said in the video. “He wouldn’t have gone far with the clothes he’s wearing — he went right next to the house. That’s the clothes he sleeps in with.”

Wadson Dumé went to the store searching where his brother said he would go that Sunday morning, but the employees said they saw him walk past the store instead.

The Haitian singer’s brother stated that he also contacted the Dominican police and immigration control office, checked hospitals, and asked friends but has not gathered any information on his brother’s whereabouts.

Dumé is the second Haitian musical artist reported missing in nearly two months. Rapper Wens Jonathan Désir, known as MechansT, disappeared on July 4 in the Bahamas. Désir’s family in Haiti has yet to receive any updated information about the singer’s disappearance.

MechansT visited the Bahamas from Haiti for a concert and stayed in an Airbnb in Great Abaco. He decided to extend his stay in the Bahamas for a vacation. Désir does not possess an American visa or passport, which is important to most Haitian artists. Consequently, many speculate he went missing after attempting to enter the U.S. illegally by boat.

A vessel traveling from Great Abaco to the U.S. went missing on July 4, the same day Désir disappeared. It carried 40 to 60 passengers, but their identities have not been confirmed.

The disappearances of these two artists raise concerns about the safety and lack of oversight of Haitian artists both domestically and abroad.

Artists need better guidance, more security

Many Haitian artists do not have personal bodyguards, counselors, or other professionals to assist and protect them during their careers. As a result, regardless of their profile status, they live like ordinary citizens. Dumé’s situation underscores a broader problem in managing Haitian talents.

“I don’t think the artists are being managed the right way and they’re really suffering from that,” said Womario Louis, an IT technician based in Cap-Haitien. “We have talent, but we don’t have established structures helping our artists.”

In the aftermath of Dumé being reported missing, many Haitians took to social media to express frustration about the lack of care artists receive.

“So an artist left home to buy a Coke? You couldn’t buy it for him so it doesn’t look bad for him? And how did he leave without a phone?” Ralph René commented on Instagram, commenting on the singer’s brother’s Intagaram post.

However, Wadson Dumé said he tried to prevent his brother from going to the store. The singer insisted on going around 10 a.m., Wadson added, while he was cooking at home because his older brother was supposed to go out in the afternoon.

When Wadson noticed that his brother had not returned, he contacted a nearby friend, hoping the Haitian star might be there. The friend said he hadn’t seen Clifford since Saturday night. That’s when Wadson began reaching out to the police.

Many fans made believe that Dominican immigration officers arrested the artist, but this information has not been verified. The Dominican Republic’s General Directorate of Migration has not yet responded to The Haitian Times’ request for comment.  Dumé left home without his passport, putting him at risk of being arrested by immigration authorities.

Nearly 400 undocumented Haitians were deported from the Dominican Republic to Haiti on Aug. 26, a day after Dumé went missing. This probably prompted many to believe that he was deported instead of being vanished, some say. 

However, the Haitians deported were apprehended near Haiti’s northern border with the DR, while Dumé was in Santo Domingo.

Additionally, after being arrested and detained by immigration officers, undocumented Haitians are often allowed to contact family members or friends the same day, a source told The Haitian Times. However, occasionally, detained individuals may spend up to a week without being able to contact family members or friends, the source added, saying that might be the case for Dumé, who does not have his phone with him.

Dumé went missing seven months after making headlines when 400 Mawozo gang members shot and killed his father, Joanès Dumé, and kidnapped his sister in Croix-des-Bouquets in January 2024. The gang members also shot his cousin, who survived. Dumé moved to the Dominican Republic shortly after.

The singer entered the Haitian music industry after winning the third edition of Podium Quartiers in 2019. He is best known for “Lanmou Inosan“, Creole for “Love is Innocent”, a 2019 song that has garnered seven million views on YouTube.

The post Singer Clifford Dumé still missing, was not deported to Haiti, close friend says appeared first on The Haitian Times.

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Singer Clifford Dumé still missing, was not deported to Haiti, close friend says was first posted on August 29, 2024 at 9:08 am.