by Credit: CPS
A man shot dead by police in south London two years ago was a violent armed gangster who gunned down a rival in a packed nightclub just days before he was killed, it can now be revealed.
Despite claims by his family that convicted criminal Chris Kaba was trying to turn his life around, the 24-year-old remained a “core member” of one of London’s most feared and dangerous gangs.
In the early hours of 30 August 2022 – just six days before he died – Kaba and three of his colleagues smuggled a handgun into a Notting Hill Carnival after-party at the Oval Space nightclub in Cambridge Heath, Hackney.
After spotting a rival on the packed dance floor, Kaba coolly raised the gun and fired, hitting his 23-year-old target in the leg.
CCTV footage from inside the club captured the horrific horror.
Miraculously no one else was hurt but panicked people were sent running for their lives.
Kaba wasn’t finished though, and as his injured target tried to escape, he chased the nightclub into the street and shot him again as he lay on the ground.
Credit: CPS
He and his fellow gang members then left the scene in two cars – one of which was the Audi he was driving the following Sunday evening when he was shot by police.
The victim was rushed to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel where he was placed under armed guard and treated for gunshot wounds to both legs.
He refused to cooperate with the police and was released from hospital against medical advice.
In February this year, three men, Shemiah Bell, Marcus Pottinger and Connell Bamgboye, were convicted for their role in the attack.
At his trial, prosecutors said that if he had been alive, Kaba would have stood trial for attempted murder.
Far from subsiding after the incident, however, Kaba’s armed activities continued the following week.
On Saturday 4 September – just 24 hours before he was shot by police – Kaba and his gang are suspected of carrying out a gun attack outside a primary school in Brixton.
Members of the public reported seeing three masked and hooded men open fire with a shotgun on a white Mercedes with two occupants.
The suspects were then seen changing their clothes and getting into two getaway cars, one of which was the Audi Q8 that Kaba was driving when he was shot.
Although the identity of the gunman was not confirmed, Kaba’s clothing was examined after his death, and gunshot residue was found on his neck. A Balaclava was also recovered from the scene.
The Audi, which was not officially registered to Kaba, was also linked to a shooting in Bromley around five months earlier in May 2022.
In that case, two people suffered gunshot wounds after being fired upon by unidentified assailants.
Kaba’s criminal record went back to the age of 13, but by his late teens he had progressed from petty crime to serious violence with convictions for stabbing and grievous bodily harm.
In 2017, while still a teenager, he was charged with possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence following a shooting in the Canning Town area of east London.
He appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court in January 2019 when he was found guilty of possessing an imitation firearm.
Kaba was sentenced to four years in the Young Offenders Institute but was released on license in 2020.
Shortly after his release, he was returned to prison after a knife was found in his car when police stopped him for driving without insurance.
He received an extra five months in custody because the offenses were committed while he was still on licence.
At the time of his death, Kaba was a pregnant father, but court records show he was served with a 28-day domestic violence protection order in April 2022 regarding the mother of his unborn child.
The order prohibited him from contacting her on social media or entering the street where she lived.
His family claimed he was working hard after serving a stint in prison to make a fresh start with his ambitions of becoming an architect.
But in reality, Kaba was one of the leading figures in the notorious Brixton’s Hill gang of 67, an organized crime network and drill rap collective.
The 50 or so gang members controlled the lucrative drug trade in the area, using firearms and knives to terrorize their rivals and protect their business and territory.
In 2019, 67 members were convicted of gang murders, and there have also been many stabbings and shootings involving its members.
In 2021, Kaba associates were stabbed to death and in May 2022 members shot 67 people in a robbery.
The 67 gang has also been active on the drill rap scene and was even named Best Newcomer in the 2016 Music of Black Origin award.
Kaba, who went by the name Itch, appeared in several videos made by the outfit.
Credit: Independent Office for Police Conduct
According to the Metropolitan Police, far from being focused on music, 67 was the most senior criminal gang in London.
In 2019, police busted a county lines drug dealing operation, resulting in 16 people, including key figures out of 67, being jailed for a total of 61 years.
At the time of his death, Kaba was the subject of an interim gang injunction, aimed at preventing him from engaging in organized criminal activity.
The Metropolitan Police were about to apply to make the injunction permanent and a hearing was listed for ten days after he was shot dead.
Credit: Independent Office for Police Conduct
Before Martyn Blake, the officer who shot Kaba, stood trial, the police said they had information that there was a credible threat to his life from members of 67.
The gang reportedly put a £10,000 bounty on Mr Blake’s head. His safety and the safety of his family were so feared that he was forced to move out of his home, and that he had to be housed elsewhere with around-the-clock security.
An assessment sent by one senior officer to the court was read: “In almost 30 years of service I have never been concerned about an officer’s welfare or the risk of harm to themselves and their family as I am about officer i. this case.
He continued: “There is specific information that shows the risk to the life of the officer and that he is actively sought or found by members of the 67 gang as a result of Mr Kaba’s death.”
