Chris Kaba: Protest to take place after 24-year-old shot dead by Met Police

A protest for Chris Kaba, a 24-year-old Black man shot and killed by the Met Police, is to be held on Saturday.

Kaba, who was due to become a father, was shot by officers in south London after a police chase on Monday night. The Met has since confirmed no firearm was found at the scene of the shooting.

His death has sparked outrage and Kaba’s family has accused the Met of being “totally racist” and called for a murder investigation to be launched.

The march, organised by the family, will begin at midday in Parliament Square and continue to Scotland Yard.

“We want to be heard and seen. This case is not going to get brushed under the carpet,” a relative of Kaba told the Big Issue.

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Organisers of the protest have been working to ensure any protests are legal – citing the need for protests to be signed off in wake of the new Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts act, which allows police to place conditions on disruptive protests.

“With all the changes to the law around protest it is important to ensure that all gatherings are not only peaceful but also legal,” Kaba’s family said in a statement, asking to be allowed to coordinate any action. The statement directed anybody seeking information to an Instagram account, @ievault.

A separate gathering in support of Kaba took place on Thursday evening, with protesters demanding answers on the steps of Brixton and holding a minute’s silence.

Police took two days from the shooting to confirm no weapon had been found in Kaba’s car.

Police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has launched an investigation and said a number plate recognition camera had flagged the vehicle as linked to a firearms incident.

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Commander Alexis Boon said on Wednesday that the Met is “cooperating fully with the independent investigation by the IOPC” and offered condolences to Kaba’s family.

In a video message, Boon added the Met was “providing the information they need to conduct an investigation to the fullest extent.”

Kaba’s father, Prosper Kaba, told the BBC: “For us, it is totally racist and criminal and we want all the community, especially the minority community, to see this as a racism case.”