Kaba case traumatising, say black community leaders

Black communities in south London are really traumatised and feel they have been denied justice after a police officer was cleared of murdering Chris Kaba, community leaders have said.

About 150 people gathered for a vigil outside the Old Bailey in central London on Monday after jurors returned their verdict.

In Croydon on Tuesday, some residents were reluctant to speak to BBC London about the case, but two community leaders sat down to discuss how people were feeling.

Youth worker Anthony King, who runs a crime reduction organisation in Croydon, said: "What hit me the most is the public decision that was done... now there's a processing that has to take place."

Martyn Blake, 40, shot Mr Kaba, who was unarmed, during a police vehicle stop in Streatham, south London, in September 2022.

During the trial jurors heard Mr Kaba's car was boxed in by police cars and he drove backwards and forwards trying to ram his way free.

Mr Blake told the court he believed one of his colleagues was about to die, and so he opened fire to stop the car.

The jury in the murder trial was not told about Mr Kaba’s criminal history but, on Tuesday, Mr Justice Goss lifted restrictions barring the reporting of it.

Mr King said "many people have concerns" and are "really traumatised" not just about the verdict but "what's happened since in of the video that's been released” - referring to police bodycam footage of the incident issued shortly after the verdict.

"We went two steps forward in of building relationships and it just feels like we've taken a step back.

"With the police, we've seen the impact that it's had here in Croydon in reducing teenage murders, and we've got to do what we can to keep seeing a change in our communities,” he continued.

Beryl St James is a pastor who works with Croydon Voluntary Action (CVA), which interacts with the Met Police to try to reduce violence in the area.

She said people in the community had deeper questions about the justice system and “what threshold was used to decide to charge the officer with murder”.

"People are not looking for, and they don't want, a guilty verdict per se. They want justice and they want the system to be looked at; at how we got to that position,” she said.

Mr King said he also had questions over the judicial decision-making process, including: "Why did it get to this and how come it dragged on for two years":[]}