Handout photo taken with permission from the Twitter feed of @LeftUnityParty of of protesters marching to New Scotland Yard, London in a protest over the death of the rapper, Chris Kaba, September 10, 2022
NATIONWIDE protests were held on Saturday to demand justice for Chris Kaba, an unarmed black man who was shot dead by the police in south London two weeks ago.
Hundreds gathered outside Scotland Yard in London as part of a national day of action called by the Justice for Chris Kaba campaign, as well as police stations in Cardiff, Manchester, Brighton, Coventry and Southampton.
The family of Mr Kaba, 24, who have accused the Metropolitan Police of racism, were among those attending the London demo.
His cousin, Jefferson Bosela, told crowds that he would fight for justice “until the very end.”
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn spoke at the gathering as well as the MP for Streatham Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who criticised the police’s decision not to suspend the officer who fired the fatal shot until a week after Mr Kaba’s death.
“In any other profession, if you did something which ended someone’s life, you would be suspended immediately,” Ms Ribeiro-Addy said. “It makes no sense to me, and I’m a politician.”
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has launched a homicide investigation into Mr Kaba’s death.
In a statement on Friday, the IOPC said it will look at whether race was a factor. The police watchdog added that its investigation could take six to nine months, prompting anger from the family.
“We won’t be waiting years for this,” his cousin, Mr Bosela said. “We want justice as soon as we can.”
Daniel Machover, a lawyer speaking on behalf of the family, described the timeframe as "unacceptably long and lacking urgency.”
His family will be shown police footage from the night he was killed this week, the IOPC have confirmed.
Mr Kaba, a musician and father-to-be, was shot dead by a firearms officer following a police pursuit of his car which ended in a residential road in Streatham Hill on September 5.
The preliminary cause of death has been given as a gunshot wound to the head. An inquest is due to begin on October 4.
He is the second unarmed black man to be killed by Met officers this year.
