Musical icon Lieutenant Stitchie has died

September 28, 2026

The Government and the Opposition People’s National Party are paying tribute to musical icon Lieutenant Stitchie who passed away today at the age of 60.

Stitchie, whose given name is Cleveland Laing, died at hospital.

In a post on his social media pages, Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness hailed him as one of Jamaica’s greatest DJs of the dancehall genre.

Dr. Holness said Laing could very well have been described as one of Jamaica’s best storytellers and humourists. He said his discography forms part of the soundtrack of the 1980s and 1990s.

The Prime Minister said he recalls fondly attending a concert at his high school at which Stitchie performed.

The Prime Minister has offered condolences to the family and loved ones of Laing.

The People’s National Party said it joins Jamaica and music lovers across the world in mourning Lieutenant Stitchie, who passed away just one day before his 61st birthday.

Opposition spokesperson on culture, creative industries and information, Nekeisha Burchell, said Jamaica lost one of its most gifted and courageous voices.

She said Stitchie helped shape dancehall in its formative years, carried the music to the world, and then showed that a man can reinvent himself with grace and still hold the respect of all who knew him.

She said emerging from the vibrant sound system culture of Spanish Town in the early 1980s, Stitchie rose to prominence with his 1986 hit “Wear Yuh Size”, followed by “Natty Dread”.

She said after becoming a born-again Christian in 1997, he devoted himself to ministry and built a thriving career in gospel reggae.