Progressive sections in London and across the UK are protesting the killing of 24-year-old rapper Chris Kaba in a police shooting. On Saturday, September 10, thousands, including activists from Stand Up To Racism, Black Lives Matter, Black African Caribbean and Asian Lawyers for Justice, and 4Front Project, marched in London demanding justice in the case. Kaba was an aspiring rapper who went by the name of ‘Madix’ and was part of the British hip hop collective, Drill Group 67. He was shot to death by police in Streatham Hill in South London on September 5.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has started a homicide investigation against the police officials involved in the shooting. Friends and relatives of Kaba have demanded that the Metropolitan Police release the footage from the body cams of the officers involved in the shooting.
On September 5, an unarmed Kaba was pursued by police officers as he was driving an Audi that was reportedly linked to a firearms incident. Kaba was killed by a single shot fired by the police that went in through the driver’s side of the car.
Kaba and his partner, Kim Alleyne, were expecting their first child. His family has demanded that authorities immediately suspend the Metropolitan Police officers who are involved in the case. On Sunday, protesters marched from Parliament Square to Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, in London, carrying placards that read “Black Lives Matter”, “Justice for Chris Kaba” and “Abolish the Metropolitan Police.”
Delia Mattis from Black Lives Matter said on Saturday, “Black people don’t have a history of violence against the police. The police have a history of violence against black people,” Socialist Worker reported.
On September 8, Stand Up To Racism stated, “where tensions are high, there is serious economic and social deprivation and a growing trend of racist treatment and policies in this country, we must demand to know why?”
Morning Star reported that the authorities had pressured the organizers to cancel Saturday’s protest in London in the wake of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. However, the organizers did not succumb to the pressure and continued with the protest seeking justice for the young rapper.
