CHRIS Kaba was a feared “core member” of the notorious 67 Gang and was involved in a nightclub shooting just days before he was shot by a cleared cop, it can be revealed today.
The 24-year-old drill rapper had served prison sentences for firearms offences and possessing weapons.
Chris Kaba’s violent past has been revealed[/caption]
Kaba was a member of the ’67 Gang’ in Brixton[/caption]
And Kaba – nicknamed ‘Mad Itch’ – was a leading member of the notorious ‘67’ gang based in Brixton, South London.
When he was shot dead by Met Police firearms officer Martyn Blake, Kaba was facing the prospect of a long prison sentence, according to the officer’s barrister.
In the week leading up to his death on the night of 5 September 2022, Kaba was linked to two shootings.
Kaba was caught on CCTV shooting a gang rival at a packed nightclub in Hackney, East London.
The Old Bailey heard during legal argument there was “strong evidence” Kaba was one of a gang who carried out a shotgun attack in Brixton the night before his death.
Sgt Blake’s defence counsel argued the shootings explained why Kaba tried to ram his way out of a police trap in Streatham before he died.
Patrick Gibbs KC suggested that had Kaba lived, “he would have been tried for attempted murder in this court over many weeks.”
But jurors trying 40-year-old Sgt Blake for murder, were barred from knowing about Kaba’s life of crime.
Mr Justice Goss ruled Kaba’s background and the shootings before his death, offered no “important explanatory evidence” to the case.
Blake – cleared of murder yesterday in just three hours after a three-week trial – had been briefed about the Brixton shooting before going out on patrol but had no knowledge of Kaba when he killed him.
The judge this morning lifted a contempt of court order allowing reporting of Kaba’s background for the first time.
Until now, Kaba has been painted as a loving dad-to-be who worked as a construction worker.
But he had convictions dating back to the age of 13.
Kaba was found guilty for his part in a vicious nine-man fight in 2014 during which he was shot.
And he was sentenced to four years imprisonment in 2019 for possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
Kaba was jailed for five months the following year for possessing a knife – and failing to stop for police.
The dad-to-be was also handed a 28-day domestic violence order in April 2022 preventing him contacting the mother of his unborn child.
It emerged during legal submissions that Kaba had previously been subject to an interim gang order.
He was due to face an application for a permanent order which was due to take place 10 days after his death.
VIOLENT PAST
It was also revealed in legal argument how Kaba had gunshot residue on his sleeve when he was shot dead by Blake.
The only evidence the jury heard about Kaba’s character was from a friend who knew him for two years and claimed he was a “calm” person.
It contrasted evidence from an earlier three-month Old Bailey trial this year which heard how Kaba brutally shot a rival in a drug feud.
CCTV showed Kaba shooting rival gang member Brandon Malutshi at the packed Oval Space nightclub in Hackney, East London.
Kaba then ran after his target into the street and continued firing, hitting him in the leg.
Jurors in that earlier trial were told the shooting was part of a County Lines feud between Kaba’s 67 gang and the rival 17 gang, which Malutshi was associated with.
The court heard how Kaba’s fellow gang member Marcus Pottinger, 30, smuggled a handgun through metal detectors into the Open Space club, where he had previously worked.
Kaba and his gang were carrying metal nitrous oxide canisters and balloons when they entered the club on the night of 30 August 2022.
Hundreds of party-goers were in the club at the time, continuing Notting Hill Carnival celebrations.
Another gang member, 31-year-old Shemiah Bell, was initially seen on CCTV inside the club holding a bag containing the gun.
The 67 gang members were seen loitering around the bar with drinks before Kaba spotted rival Malutshi.
Kaba was seen approaching Bell, who made a gun signal with his hand and handed the bag to him along with a single black glove.
Putting on a face covering and lifting up his hood, Kaba was shown on CCTV moving towards his enemy and drawing his right hand.
Kaba opened fire and Malutshi then sprinted off with Kaba and Bell in pursuit.
CCTV showed Malutshi cowering behind a car as Kaba emerged from the club wearing a grey tracksuit with his hood up and mask still on.
Kaba chased Malutshi down the street and three further shots were fired at Malutshi.
One of the bullets pierced his right leg just under the buttock.
Kaba then made his way with Bell towards the Audi Q8 getaway car, which he was driving when shot dead by gun cop Blake.
Footage showed Malutshi bleeding heavily from his right leg.
He tried to stand and collapsed before being flown to hospital by an air ambulance.
Malutshi was given a blood transfusion and despite medical advice, discharged himself later that day with a bullet fragment still embedded in his right leg.
Bell was jailed for 10 years in April this year and Pottinger got nine years.
Both were convicted of wounding with intent and possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence following a three-month trial.
Another of Kaba’s associates, 28-year-old Connel Bamgboye, was jailed for five years and six months after he was convicted of the firearms offence.
Bamgboye’s passport was in Kaba’s car when he was shot dead by Blake.
Sentencing over the Hackney shooting, Judge Simon Mayo told Pottinger, Bell and Bamgboye: “I am sure that you and Kaba had brought that gun to the scene.”
The judge said Kaba was a “core member” of the Brixton-based 67 gang.
Judge Mayo also told Bell as he jailed him: “The jury’s verdicts mean they were sure that….you and Pottinger encouraged Kaba in his plan.
“The risk of grave or life threatening injury occurring when someone is shot by a gun is clear and obvious.
“I am satisfied that the intention you shared with Kaba fell not that far short of an intention to kill.”
Blake’s defence KC Mr Gibbs said the Hackney incident explained “an enormous amount“ on “why he did what he did” when Kaba tried to escape the police trap.
Blake’s legal team were also barred by the judge from suggesting another shooting on the night before Kaba died could have influenced his behaviour during the police stop.
Kaba’s Audi Q8 was linked to a shotgun attack on a car containing two people outside a Brixton school on the night of 4 September 2022.
Witnesses reported seeing three men with a shotgun at the time of the shooting.
Nobody had been arrested and the weapon was still outstanding when Kaba was killed as he tried to ram his way out of a police stop.
Phone cell site analysis showed Kaba’s movements mirrored the Audi’s before and after the Brixton shooting.
However, there was no data available at the time shots were fired – suggesting the phone might have been switched off.
Mr Gibbs, said: “One of the things the Crown say is that there is no evidence Mr Kaba was one of the gunmen on 4 September.
“In my submission there is strong evidence suggesting that he was.”
Mr Gibbs said what Kaba “actually was and what he had done” was “relevant” to the murder trial.
He also applied for Kaba’s criminal history to go before the jury as agreed facts – which Mr Justice Goss turned down.
Mr Gibbs told in legal argument how Kaba’s life of crime began when he was aged 13.
In 2015, when he was 17, Kaba was convicted of affray and possession of an offensive weapon, namely a belt.
Mr Little said a revolver-style handgun was found nearby following the incident but there was no link to Kaba and he was not charged.
TIMELINE OF THE PROBE
THIS is how events unfolded two years ago.
September 5, 2022: A Tactical Firearms Commander is made aware of the sighting of an Audi Q8, driven by Chris Kaba, after ANPR camera flags up its alleged involvement in a shooting the previous night.
The commander declares a firearms incident and passes tactics to an armed response team. Armed officers pursue the car, which is forced to a stop at 10.07pm in Streatham Hill, South London.
As Mr Kaba revs the engine, an officer standing in front of the car fires a single shot through the windscreen.
September 6: Mr Kaba dies in hospital at 0.19am. The Metropolitan Police refers itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
September 7: Statement by Mr Kaba’s family’s calls for a murder investigation.
September 12: Met confirm Officer NX121 has been suspended from frontline duties
September 20, 2023: Officer charged with murder by the Crown Prosecution Service. Hundreds of colleagues reportedly turn in their weapons permits.
March 8, 2024: Judge lifts anonymity order, naming Martyn Blake as the officer.
October 21, 2024: Blake is cleared of murder, with jurors at the Old Bailey taking just three hours to reach a unanimous verdict.
However, Kaba was convicted of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence after shots were fired in Canning Town on 30 December 2017.
Kaba was jailed for four years over that offence at Snaresbrook Crown Court in 2019.
He was released on licence the following year after being held in custody awaiting trial.
In August 2020, while still on license, he was sentenced to five months jail for possession of a knife and failing to stop for police in his car.
And far from being a loving dad-to-be, it was revealed how Kaba had terrorised the mother of his unborn child.
He was handed a 28-day domestic violence protection order in April 2022.
The order barred him from contacting her on social media or even entering the street where she lives.
But Mr Justice Goss said the evidence about the shootings in the week leading up to Kaba’s death was irrelevant to the case against Blake.
Ex-Met firearms officer Tony Long – cleared of murdering a London gangster in 2015 – said after the case: “The jury were kept in the dark about who Chris Kaba really was.
“It was unfair to Martyn Blake as Kaba’s past history explains why he acted in the way he did when he was shot.
“To speak ill of the dead seems in this case to be considered worse than prosecuting someone for a murder they have not done.
“The law has asked 12 members of the public to make a huge life-impacting decision without key evidence.”
