Two of Chris Kaba’s ’67 gang’ nightclub shooting accomplices had only just been freed from prison spells after being found guilty of county lines drug dealing.
Shemiah Bell and Connel Bamgboye were out on licence at the time they were with Mr Kaba when he fired at a gang rival in Hackney, east London, on August 30 2022.
Father-of-one Mr Kaba, 24, was shot dead six days later in Streatham, south London, by firearms Sergeant Martyn Blake, who was cleared on Monday of his murder.
It was only after the acquittal that a judge yesterday ruled details of Kaba’s criminal past could be publicly revealed – including the fact he would have been charged with attempted murder over the Hackney shooting had he lived.
Bell and Bamgboye were previously jailed in April this year in connection with Mr Kaba’s shooting of ’17 gang’ member Brandon Malutshi, 25 – as was another accomplice, Marcus Pottinger.
The trio were all convicted of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, while Bell and Pottinger were also found guilty of wounding with intent.
It can also now be revealed that Bell and Bamgboye were among 16 county lines drug dealers sent to prison in July 2019 and had not long been freed before the Hackney shooting in 2022.
Back then, Bamgboye was described by a judge as being one of the dealers with ‘managerial roles’ in the operation.
Judge Benedict Kelleher, at Inner London Crown Court, told him: ‘There was no doubt it was a significant role, or at the very least at the top end of the significant bracket.’
Members of the gang formed the music group ‘6ix7’, self-styled ‘pioneers of UK drill music’ which had racked up millions of views on YouTube with videos glamourising guns and violence.
Prosecutor Sam Willis told the trial that, from May to November 2018, the defendants were ‘part of a gang operating out of Brixton’ but also covering a number of counties in the south of England, including Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Berkshire and Hampshire.
The court heard how the group took over addicts’ houses to use them as bases from which to deal class A drugs – a tactic known as ‘cuckooing’.
Bamgboye was sentenced in July 2019 to six years in prison while Bell was given four years and eight months.
They had both been released on licence ahead of their involvement in the Oval Space shooting in August 2022 involving Mr Kaba and his fellow ’67’ gang members.
Mr Kaba was said to be ‘moving mad’ after spotting Mr Malutshi at a party before he produced a handgun and shot at his victim, causing panic on the dancefloor.
Wearing a grey tracksuit, he then pursued the victim into the street brandishing the handgun and shooting as Mr Malutshi tried to flee, it was alleged.
A number of shots were fired before Mr Malutshi collapsed having suffered gunshot wounds to both legs.
He was taken to hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and later discharged himself against medical advice.
Mr Kaba was identified on CCTV footage of the shooting taken from inside and outside the club.
The gun, which was not recovered, had been smuggled into the club in a bag by Pottinger, who had previously worked there and was able to avoid security checks.
Mr Kaba had travelled to Hackney in an Audi but made his getaway in a Range Rover.
The Audi was driven away by Bell who parked it outside his home for Mr Kaba to pick up in the morning.
In April this year at the Old Bailey in London, Judge Simon Mayo KC jailed Bell for 10 years, Pottinger for nine years and Bamgboye for five years and six months.
Bell – who was nicknamed ‘Bones’ for a dogbone necklace he would wear around his neck – and Pottinger had remained silent in police interviews after being arrested over the nightclub shooting.
Bamgboye – known by the street names ‘C-Rose’ and ‘Conz’ – accepted he had visited the club but claimed no knowledge of a gun or the shooting.
Bell gave evidence at the trial, saying he was unaware a bag being carried contained a weapon though later admitted lying under oath about this.
The trio were all cleared of attempted murder but found guilty on other charges in February this year before being sentenced two months later.
Sentencing, Judge Simon Mayo told the defendants: ‘Shortly after 4am on the morning of August 30 2022 Chris Kaba shot Brandon Malutshi twice in the leg – once on the dance floor of The Oval Space nightclub in Hackney, and once on Hackney Road, as Malutshi tried to escape.
‘Once inside the venue Kaba, and other members of your group gathered by the bar. Kaba and Bamgboye were wearing balaclavas.
‘It is clear that at some point Kaba spotted Brandon Malutshi, a man who the prosecution said was associated with a gang known as “17” from Wandsworth.
‘It was an agreed fact that Kaba was a core member of a rival gang from Brixton known as ’67’. It was also agreed that Bell and Bamgboye were associated with that same gang.’
Even though Mr Kaba was named on the charges and in the trial as a co-conspirator, his identity could not be reported until the conclusion of Mr Blake’s trial.
During legal argument it emerged that Mr Kaba and Bamgboye had been convicted in 2015 for their part in a nine-man fight.
In August 2020, Mr Kaba was jailed for five months for the possession of a knife and failing to stop.
Before that, he served a four-year prison term for possession of an imitation firearm for which he was convicted in December 2017.
An application for a gang order against Mr Kaba was also under way at the time of his death, the court was told.
And referring to the Hackney shooting, Mr Blake’s defence lawyer Patrick Gibbs said of Mr Kaba: ‘Had he been alive he would have been tried for attempted murder in this court for many days and weeks.’
Allegations that Mr Kaba was directly linked to two shootings in the six days before his death could only be reported this week after Mr Justice Goss lifted a bar on reporting them.
The senior judge rejected a bid by Mr Kaba’s mother Helen Lumuanganu for her son’s gang activities to stay secret until after an inquest, which could have taken years.