Chris Kaba inquest reveals he was not a suspect before being fatally shot by police

24-year-old Chris Kaba - also known as Mad Itch from London drill group 67 - was killed on September 5 in Streatham Hill, South London with a single shot by a police officer.

An inquest has since opened sharing that Kaba was not a suspect, however was being followed by a police car that did not use lights or sirens before shooting him dead.

Inner South London Coroner's Court heard that Mr Kaba’s car had been associated with a firearms incident the previous day, yet his name had not been included in the briefing given to the officers.

Mr Kaba was a father-to-be and unarmed.

The IOPC lead investigator, Dean Brown said: “The evidence further suggests that officer NX121 was standing to the front of Mr Kaba’s vehicle. A single shot was fired by officer NX121 piercing the front windscreen of the vehicle Mr Kaba was driving.”

Brown added: “Officers at the scene provided first aid to Mr Kaba before he was taken to King’s College hospital where he was pronounced dead at 12.16am.”

According to The Guardian, the senior coroner Andrew Harris asked if anyone has been charged with homicide which Brown replied: “Not at this time.”

Mr Kaba’s cousin Jefferson Bosela whilst wearing a ‘Justice for Chris Kaba’ T-shirt said the following statement: “The family is pleased that, in this statement, the IOPC made public some of its initial findings about what happened that night. Every new fact is a step towards justice for Chris.

“Officers must be interviewed under caution immediately. We have been told that after nearly a month, neither the officer who killed Chris or any of the other officers involved have been interviewed under caution.”

Bosela proceeded: “This should not take months and months. The evidence they need to make that decision should be available within weeks. 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.

“While we have had positive communications with the IOPC, at times our family has had to chase the IOPC for information or push them to do what they should be doing already. The best way for the family to have confidence in the process, is for the family to be kept closely informed at every stage.”

Bosela added: “We need answers. 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. We must never accept this as normal. Someone must be held accountable.”

He concluded: “We will not rest until the people responsible for Chris’s death are held fully accountable.”

Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Video and Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter