Former Fugees frontman-turned-humanitarian Wyclef Jean was hospitalized Sunday after being show in the hand
on the eve of presidential elections in the earthquake-ravaged region of Haiti.

‘Clef suffered the superficial wound while driving through the nation’s capital of Port Au Prince with fellow hip-hopster Busta Rhymes and Haitian record executive Jimmy “Henchman” Rosemond. The trio had travelled to the Caribbean country to raise support for presidential candidate Michel Martelly in Sunday’s second round of voting, which pits the musician-turned-politician against popular ormer First Lady Mirlande Manigat. Jean was briefly taken to the hospital and released after receiving treatment.

Wyclef became the subject of death threats last year when he put himself forward as a presidential candidate for Haiti, which is still recovering from a devastating earthquake in Jan. 2010. (The move led to a huge feud with actor Sean Penn, who has also been instrumental in helping Haiti rebuild…) He steppped down after it was deemed he was ineligible to run, because he now lives in the US.

Joe Mignon, Senior Program Director for Jean’s Yele Haiti Foundation, tells The Associated Press that Jean was shot after 11 PM local time Saturday in the city of Delmas, just outside Port-au-Prince. A rep for the “911″ hitmaker released the following statement about the shooting early Sunday: “As many of you by now have heard, Wyclef Jean was the victim of a minor gun shot wound last night in Haiti. I have confirmed from Wyclef that he was immediately taken to the hospital, treated for a minor graze to his hand and released. He is fine.”

It’s not the Haitian presidency, but rapper Wyclef Jean is about to take on a new leadership role here in the States.

Administrators at Rhode Island’s Ivy League institution Brown University has tapped the musician-turned-humanitarian as a visiting fellow in its Department of Africana Studies for the 2010-2011 academic year, Reuters said Tuesday.

The Grammy winner, 37, will engage in activities related to its Haiti Initiative, including lectures, faculty conversations, and classes.

Clef made his first visit to campus Monday, at which time he attended two inaugural lecturers.

A failed presidential bid and a feud with Sean Penn can sure wipe a guy out.

Wyclef Jean, 37, checked into an undisclosed hospital — in an undisclosed city — over the weekend, where he’s “suffering from stress and fatigue based on the grueling eight weeks he’s had,” according to his rep Marian Salzman.

The Grammy-winning former Fugeee has been keeping a low profile since losing his bid for the Haitian presidency. Jean, who was born in Haiti but moved to New York as a child, announced last Tuesday that he was officially abandoning his bid to become president of the impoverished island nation. He actually was barred from running in August by the country’s electoral council because he did not meet the residency requirement that candidates live in Haiti for five consecutive years.

His rep says Clef “plans to take it easy” and will be released from the hospital this week.

Wyclef Jean said Sunday he has no plans to ditch his presidential bid in Haiti despite a decision by the courts to disqualify him from the race.

On Friday, Aug. 20, Haitian electoral officials ruled the the Grammy-winning former Fugee is ineligible to run as a presidential candidate because he doesn’t reside on the island, but the singer-songwriter plans to fight for the right to stand.

He’s hoping to contest the ruling, arguing that his role as a roving ambassador for the Caribbean state exempts him from the residency rule.

In a post on his Twitter.com page, Jean wrote: “Our lawyers are appealing the decision… We have met all the requirements set by the laws. And the law must be respected.”

Last week, the “Gone Till November” hitmaker scurried into hiding after receiving death threats following his decision to campaign, replacing friend Rene Preval.

“…We will continue to fight in the sense of how can we work with the new government, the administration… to give kids (a good education), which is one of the number one things in the constitution, the Haitian constitution, (that) says all kids should have privilege to a free education. And that’s something that we’re going to push on, whether I make it or not.”

A young lawyer nationally recognized as one of the most beautiful women in Haiti is none too pleased by Wyclef Jean’s plan to seek the highest office in the land.

Sarodj Bertin — who will represent the earthquake-ravaged island nation in this weekend’s Miss Universe competition in Las Vegas — has come forward to announce that she is not backing the former Fugees’ bid for the presidency. Wyclef announced his run for Haitian president nearly two weeks ago, prompting criticism from some of the world’s most prominent Haitians. Fiercely loyal to her devastated homeland, Bertin isn’t convinced that Wyclef has the political capabilities to handle all the comes with the job.

“I really admire Wyclef, he’s a great singer and a really recognized Haitian artist – but I do not know if he’s going to arrive to his political objective,” Sarodj remarked in an interview last week. “After the (earthquake), we need someone that really knows this position and has studied politics, and really knows Haitian society. We’re not in a place right now where we can just try people out. If Wyclef thinks he has the capacity then maybe he can arrive, I wish him good luck, but I think we need to look at really moving the country forward politically.”

Bertin will be the first Miss Haiti to compete in the Miss Universe pageant in 22 years.

Wyclef wants to be president of Haiti. The “Gone To November” hitmaker currently regarded as the front-runner in the country’s election, set for Nov. 28. However, the bid hasn’t come without a bit of scrutiny. ‘Clef’s childhood friend and former Fugees bandmate Pras Michael — also a Haitian-American — has been on the frontlines of blasting Jean’s run for The National Palace since he announced his candidacy Thursday.

Pras will not back Wyclef because he lacks “short-term” and “long-term” plans to bring the island nation into the 21st century. He added he loves his Ole Chum “dearly,” but he doesn’t support his policies.

“You’ve got 1.2 million people living in tent city right now. What are the plans to get these people out?” Pras said of the survivors of the Jan. 12 earthquake.

The “Ghetto Superstar” hitmaker is also disturbed that Wyclef uses a private jet for his frequent trips to Haiti and that he wondered why he doesn’t take a commercial flight, since the money saved can help families displaced by the natural disaster.

So will Pras be supporting in the upcoming election? None other than Wyclef’s opponent, Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly, instead.

“He’s more popular in Haiti than Wyclef,” said Pras.

On Thursday, hip-hop star Wyclef Jean submitted the paperwork to run for president of Haiti, thrusting himself into what is expected to be a highly competitive race and ending years of speculation about his political ambitions.

Despite being a naturalized citizen of the United States, Jean is registered as a candidate for Haiti’s November presidential election, in a move that has generated popular enthusiasm in the impoverished earthquake-ravaged nation.

The former Fugees star says the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake cemented his ambition to run for the office.

Born on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, Wyclef moved to Brooklyn at age 9. The Haitian-American has been active with relief efforts in the impoverished island nation through his charity Yele Haiti. The organization was set up by Jean five years ago to raise awareness for his country’s problems. Jean stepped down as leader of the group this week in a bid to turn his focus to campaigning.

Wyclef Jean is throwing his fitted cap into the ring to become the next president of Haiti.

This week, Jean confirmed to Time.com that he will run for President of Haiti in this year’s Nov. 28 election.

The former Fugees frontman was born near Port-au-Prince, but moved to New York City as a child and spent most of his life in Brooklyn. Nevertheless, Clef — as he is still affectionately called by fans — remains popular in his homeland for his music and work through his charity Yele Haiti, which raised millions of dollars after the Jan. 12 earthquake that killed an estimated 300,000 people and knocked down most of the government ministries and many of the homes in the impoverished island capital.

Wyclef says had it not been for the devastating quake, he may have never decided to join the political process: “If not for the earthquake, I probably would have waited another 10 years before doing this. If I can’t take five years out to serve my country as President…then everything I’ve been singing about, like equal rights, doesn’t mean anything.”

The “Killing Me Softly” hitmaker is expected to announce his candidacy live from Port-au-Prince on CNN’s Larry King Live Thursday.

President ‘Clef?

Wyclef Jean is mulling a career change — one that could make him president of his earthquake-ravaged homeland.

“I can’t sing forever,” the Fugees star told CNN this weekend, hot on the heels of reports that he is planning to abandon hip-hop in favor of a career in politics.

The “Gone to November” hitmaker says he’s already filled out the necessary paperwork to begin campaigning for the highest office in Port-Au-Prince, just in case he decides to go through with it, but for now, he’s still weighing his options.

“Wyclef’s commitment to his homeland and its youth is boundless, and he will remain its greatest supporter regardless of whether he is part of the government moving forward,” read a statement released by his Yele Haiti Foundation on Monday. “At this time, Wyclef Jean has not announced his intent to run for Haitian president. If and when a decision is made, media will be alerted immediately. Please let us know if we can help with anything else.”

A former employee of ex-Fugee star Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti Foundation is spilling the tea on some of the hip-hop star’s “side deals.”

‘Clef has been accused stealing funds from his Yele Haiti charity group, and that he used funds from the organization to pay an alleged mistress a six-figure salary, according to a new scoop from Gawker.com.

Yele Haiti collected millions of dollars to aid the people of Haiti — Wyclef’s homeland — after a devastating earthquake rocked the region Jan. 12.

According to Gawker spies, Zakiya Khatou-Chevassus carried on a lengthy affair with ‘Clef and was paid $105,000 as an independent contractor for the charity in 2008.

“She worked for Wyclef on all Wyclef matters. She did whatever Wyclef needed that day, whether it was related to Yele or not. She would do things like book flights, and she wasn’t very good at it. It’s a shame that she made that much money,” an unidentified snoop blab to the site last week.

Wyclef has yet to release an official statement regarding the accusations, but he fired off a blitz of Twitter denials online after the report went viral: “….When Donkeys spread rumors about me I dont Respond cause I’m the master that leads them to the Well to drink the Water. Yele haiti 4 life!”