Two unidentified individuals on a motorcycle shot well-known radio journalist Francklin Tamar multiple times on Rue Monseigneur Guilloux, near his home in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on December 18, 2022. Tamar was struck twice and died on his way to the hospital.
Tamar, 38, covered music and culture for over two decades, according to reports and statements shared by friends and colleagues on social media. In 2015 he began working at broadcaster Radio Solidarité, where he hosted two programs — a daily cultural program, “Konpa Konpa,” and “Samedi Culture,” a weekly show on Saturdays that promoted Haitian musical artists, according to reports and Tamar’s Facebook page.
In interviews with Haitian news outlets, Georges Venel Remarais, Radio Solidarité’s founder and director and president of the Association of Independent Media of Haiti (AMIH), described Tamar’s killing as “a huge loss” for the station. He said he could not speculate about possible motives or whether Tamar had been targeted and called on law enforcement and justice officials to investigate the killing.
In a statement, Haiti’s Ministry of Culture and Communication condemned Tamar’s killing and offered condolences to his family and colleagues but did not provide any additional information.
CPJ’s email to Haitian police did not receive a response.