Chris Kaba shot man in nightclub days before his death

Adina Campbell
Community affairs correspondent
@adinacampbell
Ashitha Nagesh
BBC News
@ashnagesh

Chris Kaba, the man shot dead by a police firearms officer in south London, was named as the gunman in a nightclub shooting days before he died, it can now be reported.

Mr Kaba was shot in the head during an armed vehicle stop in Streatham on 5 September 2022.

It can now be reported that he shot a man in both legs at the Oval Space nightclub in Hackney, east London, on 30 August 2022.

He was a rapper who performed under the names Madix or Mad Itch and was part of the 67 gang, a UK drill group and infamous gang.

The jury in the murder trial of firearms officer Martyn Blake, 40, was not told about Mr Kaba’s criminal history.

Mr Blake was cleared of murder by the jury at the Old Bailey on Monday, a verdict Mr Kaba’s family said was "painful proof that our lives are not valued by the system".

The judge has now lifted reporting restrictions in place during the trial on details about Mr Kaba’s background.

Police officers did not know who was driving the Audi on the night Mr Kaba died, but they did know it had been used as a getaway car in another shooting in Brixton, south London, the night before.

An automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) marker had been placed on the car, which alerted the police to it.

Mr Blake denied intending to kill the 24-year-old - who was not carrying a firearm - and told the trial he believed one of his colleagues could be killed by Mr Kaba’s car as he tried to get away from the police stop.

Three other men have already been convicted over their involvement in the Hackney nightclub shooting and are in prison.

During their trial, Mr Kaba was named by the judge as the gunman. The judge said Mr Kaba shot the man once in the leg while on the nightclub dance floor, and once outside as the man tried to escape.

Mr Kaba died before being charged in connection with the shooting, but was later named on the charge sheet for the trial.

In April the three defendants were sentenced to 10 years, nine years, and five years and six months respectively.

During the trial of the firearms officer Mr Blake, reporting restrictions also prevented the media from publishing details of Mr Kaba’s other criminal involvement - including previous convictions dating back to his early teen years.

Those include convictions for affray and having an imitation firearm.

Senior Metropolitan Police officer Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy backed the release of Mr Kaba's gang links. In a court statement submitted before the judge's ruling that lifted reporting restrictions on Mr Kaba's background, Mr Cundy said that there would be less support for "anti-police violence" as a result.

DAC Cundy also said that the public would have been left with a "misleading impression" without all information relating to Mr Kaba being published after trial, adding that there was "clear potential for emotions tipping into disorder".

Mr Kaba, a construction worker who was due to become a father, had been followed by police on the day he was shot.

After being boxed in by police cars, he drove backwards and forwards trying to ram his way free - Mr Blake said this made him believe one of his colleagues would be killed, and he opened fire to stop the car, the jury heard.

Mr Kaba died from a single gunshot wound to the forehead.

Bringing up the case in the Lords, former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Hogan-Howe said the legal system should give the benefit of the doubt to police officers.

He described officers as "brave men and women who on our behalf in a matter of a fraction of a second have to make the most awful decision".

One of Mr Blake's former colleagues, who was at the scene of Mr Kaba's shooting immediately after it happened, told the BBC he believed a system similar to an Army court martial would be more appropriate for such cases, rather than putting officers on trial.

On Monday, Mr Kaba's family said they were devastated by the verdict, and that the acquittal of Mr Blake "wasn't just a failure for our family, but for all those affected by police violence".

About 150 people held a vigil outside the Old Bailey on Monday evening, some holding signs with slogans including "this is not justice" and "police are perpetrators".

Sheeda Queen, a cousin of Mr Kaba, and a member of the Justice for Chris campaign group, described "a deep pain of injustice, adding to the unbearable sorrow".

Another campaigner, Kayza Rose, said the outcome "reinforces the harsh reality that police can kill without consequence".

She added: "No-one can be safe while the police can kill with impunity.

"This verdict is not the end. It only strengthens our resolve.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story said Mr Kaba had been charged with attempted murder. This has been changed to reflect that he was named on a charge sheet relating to the shooting after his death

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