Why was reggae artist General Fiyah deported from the U.S. before Polyfest? Reason explained

Lotima Nicholas Pome'e, who is known by his stage name General Fiyah, was deported from the US right before his performance at Polyfest. Pome'e, a New Zealand-born reggae artist, took to Instagram to tell his fans that he will not be able to join them at one of the biggest Pacific cultural festivals in Washington on Saturday.

He revealed the reason why he was deported from the US on his Instagram story. He wrote:

"I am really sorry to let you all know that I won't be able to make the performance tonight. Unfortunately, I was detained and sent back to New Zealand, which means I can’t be there to share this moment with you."

He continued:

"It breaks my heart, because I was so looking forward to performing and being a part of it all. Please accept my sincerest apologies, but I'll always be supporting from afar."

How did General Fiyah become popular?

Lotima Nicholas Pome'e a.k.a. General Fiyah began his journey to stardom at just 10 years old. He initially performed with Three Doors Down and was their powerhouse singer. However, eight years later, he decided to follow his own path as a solo artist.

During an interview with TP+, he said:

"I’ve been doing this since I was a kid, now embarking on this solo journey just like how Michael Jackson went from Jackson 5 to pop, you know, King of Pop… Hopefully, I can be King of Reggae."

As a teenage artist, Fiyah juggled school with music. During his last year of high school, he went back to Tonga to experience his culture firsthand. He joined Tupou College, Toloa. Regarding his experience, he said:

"When I went to Toloa, bro, it was special, man… totally different to how school is here… I was living the life of a real Tongan boy, and it was very special."

After his experience in Tonga, he released his single One True Love, which was written by his father and produced by Sheldon Palmer.

General Fiyah has also dabbled in a little bit of songwriting, and said:

"I actually have a few songs that I’ve written, I just need to show my dad to see how he thinks of it and you know just make some improvements on it… because you know I wanna show the world that I can write as well, not just my dad and my uncles."

General Fiyah's deportation comes right after another woman from New Zealand, Sarah Shaw, and her son were detained in an immigration facility in Texas. She was held at the Canadian border for more than three weeks because she mistakenly left the US and returned without both parts of her Visa approved.

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