On September 5, Kaba was driving through Streatham, south London, when the vehicle was flagged by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) before being chased and intercepted by two Metropolitan police cars. After carrying out a ‘controlled stop’, police vehicles were stranded at Kaba in Streatham Hill. A single bullet then ricocheted through the driver’s side windshield, striking Kaba in the head. He died two hours later in hospital. It was later confirmed that Kaba was unarmed and that the car he was driving was not registered to him. Although the officer involved, who has now been suspended, was initially treated as a witness, the Independent Office for Policing Conduct launched a homicide investigation. On Friday night, the IOPC said it would look into whether race influenced any actions taken by police. Bosela, who became the family’s spokesman and took the helm of the Justice for Chris Kaba campaign, argued that the IOPC’s response to the incident was not urgent, citing the warden’s response to the family’s questions and saying that it is six to The the nine-month timeframe for the homicide investigation was too long. “I don’t think the IOPC was necessarily helpful,” says Bosela. “We asked them very simple questions from the beginning, like if the car was registered to Chris, and if the car was searched, if there was a gun in the car. And we didn’t find out the answer to those questions until later.” “We’ve only met twice face-to-face … Other than that, it’s been on the phone and little to each other,” Bosela adds. “We don’t really get regular updates, although they say they are. Many of the questions we ask remain unanswered, and when they are answered, the answers are quite vague. It has not been the best experience for me or my family regarding our relationship with IOPC.” On Wednesday, the IOPC confirmed that Kaba’s family would be able to watch a police video from the night he was killed, which they will do next week. Although the warden denied that he buckled under pressure from both Kamba’s family and the public when he initially launched the homicide investigation, Bosella doesn’t believe that’s the case. “I think if there was no pressure, they would take their time,” adds Bosela. “I think without pressure they wouldn’t have much motivation.” Deborah Coles, the chief executive of the Inquest, which is supporting Kaba’s family, said: “I think the most important thing is that this should be a prompt and effective investigation. We cannot tolerate the inordinate delays that have been so familiar in all the other inquests that other families have been through.” Bosella recently stepped down from his role as head of year at a London high school to focus on the campaign. Demonstrations will take place across the country on Saturday, including in London, Manchester and Cardiff, as part of a national day of action. It followed protests last week, which included support from public figures such as Stormzy and Labor MPs Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Harriet Harman. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Bosela said that although the family’s contact with the Met had been limited, some of their officers had expressed their sympathy for what had happened. “There have been some officers, when we’ve gone to protest, who have said they’re just as angry as we are, and they want answers and a quick investigation as well,” Bosella says. “So that was somewhat reassuring when we heard some officers say that.” There are still many unanswered questions about what happened the night Kamba was killed. The family said they now want to know if the Met knew the car was being driven by Kaba as it was not registered to him. They want the suspended officer to be interviewed under caution as soon as possible. and they want a charging decision within weeks. But despite the grief and heartbreak the family is experiencing, Bossella said the support they had received had been overwhelmingly positive. “The public’s support lifted my spirits,” Bocella said. “He has made us as a family feel valued, appreciated and loved. What more could we ask for, it was so surreal. As tragic a story as this was, the camaraderie and unity and solidarity shown in the family was beautiful.”
