After firearms officer Martyn Blake was dramatically found not guilty of Chris Kaba’s murder this week, reporting restrictions on the 24-year-old rapper’s violent past and criminality were finally lifted.
But in the days and weeks after his death in September 2022, many big names from Jeremy Corbyn to Diane Abbott and the University of Greenwich called for ‘justice’ after Mr Kaba was gunned down and killed while trying to flee police.
Former leader of the Labour Party Mr Corbyn said days after the shooting: ‘No family should have to go through the pain Chris Kaba’s family have suffered following his killing last week. My thoughts are with them as they fight for justice and accountability for his death.’
Labour MP Diane Abbott was quick to point the finger of blame, writing: ‘As the terrible fate of Chris Kaba shows, people can lose their lives even when going about their daily lives. Defending all our fundamental human rights is crucial under this dangerous, repressive government.
‘The mainstream media have an unfortunate habit of erasing inconvenient truths when they have decided what ”the story” is, and it is amazing how often it happens to black people.’
But the truth is Kaba wasn’t just an ordinary motorist going about his daily life on September 5, 2022.
He was one of London’s most feared gangsters fleeing police, high on cocaine and ready to run over anyone in his way.
Months later, in December that year, the University of Greenwich said in a statement: ‘In September, we heard the heartbreaking news of the death of Chris Kaba, a 24-year-old musician and aspiring architect who was expecting a baby with his fiancée. Two years ago, following the murder of George Floyd, our university committed to do more to eliminate institutional racism.
‘It is essential that we all continue to be honest and humble about the challenges we face about the work that needs to be done and unapologetic in fighting for equity and social justice.’
On the night of Mr Kaba’s death, he had gun residue on his sleeve and a balaclava in his pocket, which Patrick Gibbs, lawyer for police marksman Martyn Blake, described as ‘strong evidence’ that he had carried out a shooting near a primary school in south London the night before.
Armed police started following Kaba after a police patrol recognised the registration of his rented Audi Q8 as being the vehicle linked to the Brixton shooting.
When cornered by police in a residential street, Kaba decided to use the car as a battering ram.
Revving back and forth in the high-powered Audi, he nearly dragged the ten officers surrounding him under the wheels before Blake finally ended the rampage by shooting him dead to save his colleagues.
What Kaba intended to do on the night of September 5, 2022 we will never know. But jurors decided this week that the actions of Sgt Blake when he opened fire, killing the driver, were lawful.
This week a judge lifted restrictions meaning it can be revealed that Kaba had been involved in multiple shootings across the capital and was a leading member of south London’s most dangerous gang, the Brixton Hill-based ’67’.
Nicknamed ‘Mad Itch’, Kaba had a shocking history of violence, with convictions dating back to the age of 13 for affray, knives and weapons possession relating to several shootings.
Jurors were told merely that the victim was an expectant father. But even that carefully constructed image crumbled when it emerged that he had been barred from contacting the mother of his unborn child under a domestic violence protection order.
Just six days before Kaba was killed, he shot a rival gang member in a Hackney nightclub packed with 1,500 revellers.
CCTV captured the moment that Kaba spotted his rival across a packed dancefloor before reaching for a gun which had been smuggled inside.
Kaba, who was already wearing a balaclava, slowly pulled his hood up, donned a glove and started shuffling through the crowd towards his target.
Seconds later there was screaming and pandemonium as Kaba opened fire at Brandon Malutshi.
As clubbers darted for cover, Kaba chased his target down the street, firing three more bullets and hitting the victim in the leg by a car. He then hopped into a Range Rover and his accomplices fled in the Audi Q8 that Kaba would use just days later.
Had he not been killed, Kaba would have stood trial at the Old Bailey for the attempted murder of Mr Malutshi who survived the shooting in Oval Space nightclub on August 30, 2022.
Kaba’s accomplices, Shemiah Bell and Marcus Pottinger, were convicted of wounding with intent while Connel Bamgboye was convicted of possession of a firearm.
So entangled was Kaba in London’s gang wars that the night Kaba was killed was not even the first time he had been shot. He was first struck by a bullet during a clash between two rival groups in 2014. He revelled in the violence, releasing drill rap songs bragging about gunning down rivals and selling drugs.
In 2017 he and his awards-nominated ’67 rap group’ were even hosted by BBC Radio One DJ Tim Westwood for a studio session.
Just five months later, Kaba fired a sawn-off shotgun outside a party in Canning Town which led to a four-year jail sentence for possession of a firearm. But he was back on the streets within a year after being released early on licence.
In August 2020, Kaba was jailed again for possession of a knife and failing to stop for police.
This week it was claimed that Kaba also ran a local protection racket alongside the gang’s main drug dealing business.
The 50 or so gang members controlled the lucrative drug trade in the area, using firearms and knives to terrorise their rivals.
At the time of his death, Kaba was the subject of an interim gang injunction aimed at preventing him from engaging in organised criminal activity.
The Metropolitan Police were about to apply for the injunction to be made permanent and a hearing had been listed for ten days after he was shot dead.
A Met police report in 2023 revealed the gang’s turf warfare had ‘encompassed numerous firearms discharges, stabbings and murders’. Described as ‘the highest harm street gang in Lambeth’, members were said to be ’embedded in a culture of drug supply, serious violence firearms and knife possession’.
But, even after Sergeant Blake’s acquittal, Ms Abbott criticised police again this week.
Making no mention of Kaba’s criminal history, she posted on social media: ‘A lack of police accountability is the tradition, not a new beginning.’