Karl Courtney Phillpotts was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on the 29th December 1952, along with his twin sister Carole, to Leo and Mable Phillpotts. He is married to Sis Valerie ‘Simeon’ who has raised him eight blessed children. He embraced the faith of Rastafari from the tender age of 14 and from then onwards he never wavered in his pursuit to understand the Holy Bible and the role of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I in Biblical prophecy. The philosophy and opinions of Marcus Garvey also had a strong influence on his philosophical development and inspiration.
Karl attributes his mannerism and educational development to his father Leo and his spiritual development and understanding of the Bible and the Faith to the man he calls his teacher, Prophet Gad.
He is a former student of Excelsior High School and the University of the West Indies which helped to provide him with the tools to expound what he has learnt from those who the Bible mention as being called the base things of the earth.
Karl has produced over 35 children short stories for the Ministry of Education, Jamaica and he has published on his own, The Selected Utterances of Marcus Garvey and The United Nazarenes.
On the 40th Anniversary of the Coronation of His Imperial Majesty, he wrote an article (with the help of Prophet Gad and others) published in the Jamaica Daily News (Nov. 1973) on the life of Haile Selassie I. A copy of the article was sent to the Haile Selassie I Foundation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. To his surprise, the article was brought to the attention of the King himself and the King responded by ordering a letter to be sent to the author. The letter is here reprinted below.
Brother Karl Napthali has been blessed to travel seven countries in Africa and also to Israel, seeking opportunities for the resettlement of our people. He is also the current President of the Shashamane Foundation.