Crowds gathered outside Scotland Yard demanding justice for Chris Kaba, who was shot dead by Metropolitan Police officers. Mr Kaba was 24-years-old and due to become a father within months.
News reporter @megbaynes
Sunday 11 September 2022 15:06, UK
Stormzy has joined protestors in support of the family of Chris Kaba, who was shot dead by armed Metropolitan Police officers in south London.
A march took place through London on Saturday over the death of Mr Kaba, with crowds gathering outside Scotland Yard demanding justice for the 24-year-old.
Mr Kaba, who was due to become a father, died in hospital in the early hours of Tuesday after being shot following a chase with police on Monday night in Streatham Hill.
Vossi Bop singer Stormzy, 29, spoke at the march, saying: “Chris has a mother, he has a family, he has brothers, he has friends, people who knew him in real life, who for them, it’s unbearable.”
He said there was no way to “sugar coat” what had happened to Mr Kaba and urged them to “have stamina” in their efforts to raise awareness of his death and the events surrounding it.
“Everyone here today, I would encourage everyone to have stamina,” he said.
“And I know it’s a very difficult thing to say… But when these people do these things, they get away with it, because what happens is we do this once, we get tired, we tweet, we get tired, we do it for a week, we do it for two weeks, we do it for a month, and they know we get tired.”
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“What they’ve done is they’ve killed someone. We can’t sugar coat it,” he added.
Hackney Labour MP Diane Abbott and Streatham Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy were also at the event in the capital, which saw supporters in the crowd carrying signs saying “Justice for Chris Kaba” and “Black Lives Matter”.
Calls for officer to be immediately suspended
Mr Kaba’s car was stopped, the Met said, following the activation of an automatic number plate recognition camera, which indicated the car had been “linked to a firearms offence in the previous days”.
His family called for a murder investigation after it emerged no firearm was found on him.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has launched a homicide investigation into the incident.
Mr Kaba’s family have demanded the firearms officer involved be “immediately suspended” pending the result of the IOPC investigation.
Met Assistant Commissioner Amanda Pearson said on Friday the officer involved is not currently on operational duties and their work status will be carefully considered going forward.
She said the force was cooperating fully with the IOPC investigation.
‘He was so loved’
Kim Alleyne, whose daughter Karimah Waite was engaged to Mr Kaba and carrying his child, said the pair were due to marry early next year.
She said: “He was so loved. He was so funny. He was super kind.
“He’s got a baby on the way that he’s never going to see.”
