Roro Nelson condamné aux Etats-Unis ne peut pas retourner en Haïti

A love or power playing affair

Last Friday, the Dorchester District Court was filled with supporters of Martelly and Haitian TV superstar Roro Nelson. They came from every temple, every Christian denomination and every political faction to support Ronald Nelson, aka “Vant Bef” or Roro Nelson.

From left to right-Michel Martelly, Roro Nelson



Roro was in court to respond to accusations of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon based on a police complaint made by his disappointed former girlfriend, Astrude Walsh, a self-proclaimed registered nurse and member of RDNP - the political party of Mirlande Manigat. For those who are not familiar with the American justice system, a dangerous weapon could be Roro’s teeth, hands or even his fingers.

Astrude Walsh changed her political position right after Michel Martelly won the recent presidential election in Haiti and formed a committee to represent the newly elected president in Massachusetts. According to radio news reports, she later attended a fundraising event in New York as Martelly’s representative without official authorization from Martelly or a member of his team.

According to a source of Jeune Haiti magazine, Roro, who had made a reputation of being a bad boy among women, decided to put his life together due to his new status as advisor and personal assistant to President Michel Martelly. He converted to Christianity and decided to have a family.

After Michel Martelly was elected, Roro Nelson returned to Boston and proposed to a woman named Farah Chatelier, his former business partner and TV co-host at Tele Diaspora, a popular Haitian cable TV show in Boston. Farah is a fine, educated young Haitian American lady who has demonstrated exceptional talent in marketing as a representative of the long distance retailer, No Pin, in Massachusetts.

The new couple was heading to Mosley Ballroom in Dedham to celebrate their engagement when Astrude Walsh, who is frustrated that her hopes of becoming a first lady have been smashed, ran from the dark and grabbed Farah on her chest and began barking like a mean dog.

“I am going to kill you for stealing my boyfriend,” said Astrude Walsh.

Farah, surprised by the bestial behavior of Roro’s former girlfriend, stood frozen. “I was very scared and shocked,” said Farah.

Roro, a tall and heavyset man, pulled his fiancée away and escorted his former girlfriend to her car and promised her to explain his decision later. Roro is in his late 40s and felt strongly that he had to end his single life to fit his new status as a political leader and presidential advisor. Many friends and supporters of Roro have already pointed at him as Martelly’s successor in 2016.

Roro’s wanna-be wives and political foes are trying to use this unnecessary and unfortunate incident as a political tool to derail his political carrier and to attack the credibility of the new administration.

Astrude Walsh confided to one of her friends that Roro Nelson did not do anything wrong and on the contrary, treated her with respect and kindness during the incident, however, she was pressured by one of Roro’s envious comrades to file the complaint that night.

The alleged victim Astrude Walsh has not shown up to either the first or second hearing and refused to collaborate with investigators. Despite the fact that her identity is widely known in the Haitian community, according to a source close to the court, the victim provided a fake name to the officer who took the report.

Astrude Walsh expressed willingness to dismiss the case but because of the seriousness of the allegations, the case was postponed to July and the sheriff’s department was ordered to track down the victim and bring her to the court to testify against her will.

According to a criminal lawyer, the prosecutor has a very weak case against Roro but the crowd of Roro’s cheerleaders gathered in the court hallway may have impacted the court’s decision to postpone the case rather than dismiss it. There was also much criticism about the inexperience or bad faith of the defense lawyer who may be trying to prolong the case to make more money. In similar cases, once the victim doesn’t appear the case is dismissed.

Roro had a very diverse crowd of supporters in the court on Friday including a few well-dressed representatives of Jean Claude Duvalier (former and newly converted tonton makouts) with mean-looking faces. Among the supporters could be heard the rumbling voice of job seekers: Roro pa bliye zanmiw non (Roro don’t forget me), nou pakab pran fraidi deye volan taxi anko (we cannot deal with the cold days behind the wheel of a taxi anymore), Roro mwen vle you job nan investigation (Roro I need a job as an investigator), mwen vle direkte ladwan (I want to be the director of Customs), lage Aeoport nan men partnerw (Put me in charge of the airport), mwen kapab gere jounalis yo pou Micky (I can keep the journalists under control for Micky).

This tohubohu, adding to the strong body odor of a few freelance journalists created chaos in the court. This commotion intimidated the prosecutors and defense attorneys, as well as the court workers, leaving the judge with the impression that the victim may be too intimidated to pursue her claim.

In fact, the victim told a correspondent of Jeune Haiti Magazine that her claim was frivolous.

Who is Roro Nelson? Ronald Nelson arrived in the United States at a very young age to join his mother in Boston. After high school, he joined the US Army. Following a brief service in the military, he attended Berkley School of Music and Northeastern University. Roro became an icon in the entertainment industry promoting Haitian music and movies. Roro has demonstrated exceptional talent as a TV anchor as well as freelance radio reporter. He has been very involved in community organizing activities, and many soccer championships to promote sports among the youth at every opportunity. He plays soccer and finally performs as soccer coach for many soccer teams.

Most people who have heard about the allegation are shocked, as Roro is a very gentle natured man who would not assault a woman.

Roro popped up in politics as an activist for the Democratic Party and worked close with Massachusetts State Representative Marie St. Fleur. He later became the national coordinator within the Haitian Diaspora in Senator John Kerry’s campaign for President.

In Haiti, Roro Nelson is only known as the tall man who always stands behind President Martelly and precedes him at every public event, the musician or the sport broadcaster .

The Haitian American community of New England is hoping that this case be dismissed so Roro can go back to Haiti and continue to put his talent and dedication into mobilizing the Haitian Diaspora in the reconstruction efforts in Haiti.

Jacques dady Jean can be reach at Jacjean1@hotmail.com