Defending National Calypso Monarch Helon Francis became the centre of a national debate on Sunday night after audio from his National Calypso Monarch finals performance was abruptly lost during the live broadcast of the Dimanche Gras show on State-owned Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT).

The interruption occurred as Francis, performing his calypso “Doh Forget” in position 11 of 12 finalists at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain, reached a politically charged section of the song referencing freedom, expression and the proposed ZOSO legislation.

The proposed ZOSO Bill, which would have allowed the State to designate high-crime communities as special security zones with expanded police and military powers, was defeated in the Senate in January after failing to secure the three-fifths majority needed to become law.