Chris Kaba's cousin Jefferson Bosela reads a statement outside Inner South London Coroner's Court, alongside Chris's uncle Kiyika Nkama Nkamu (left), father Prosper Kaba (second left) and mother Helen Lumuanganu after the inquest into his death. Picture date: Tuesday October 4, 2022.
THE family of Chris Kaba demanded answers today as the inquest into his killing opened.
Coroner Andrew Harris offered his condolences to the family of the 24-year-old black Londoner, who was shot dead through the windscreen of a car in Streatham Hill a month ago.
His parents, uncle and cousin Jefferson Bosela attended the brief hearing today at Inner South London coroner’s court.
Outside the court, Mr Bosela called for the officers involved to be interviewed under caution immediately and for an urgent decision on whether the officer will face criminal charges over the shooting.
“We need answers,” he said. “Not just this family but the whole of London — the whole of the country — needs to know how something like this could occur.
“How can a young man, sitting in a car, unarmed, be shot in the head by police in London in 2022?
“This should never have happened. It must never happen again.
“An urgent decision on criminal charges is critical for this family, and many others, to have faith in the system that is supposed to bring them justice,” Mr Bosela said.
The court heard that an unarmed Mr Kaba had been driving an Audi linked by police to a firearms incident the previous day.
He was followed by an unmarked police car with no lights or sirens in the minutes before the shooting.
After his Audi drove down Kirkstall Gardens, he was blocked by a marked police vehicle and there was “contact” between the two cars, the court heard, before a police marksman fired a single shot through the windscreen, hitting Mr Kaba in the head.
The hearing was adjourned to allow the Independent Office for Police Conduct to carry out its investigation into the death, which is expected to last between six and nine months.
