Chris Kaba was shot once in Streatham on Monday
(Picture: Supplied)The heartbroken mother of a young rapper shot dead by armed officers said “police have taken my son away from me” after it was revealed no gun was found at the scene.
Chris Kaba, 23, who was due to become a father within months, died after a police chase that ended in Streatham Hill, south London, on Monday night.
The IOPC, the police watchdog, confirmed on Wednesday that no non-police firearms were found in the car Mr Kaba was inside or at the scene.
His parents accused Scotland Yard of being “totally racist and criminal” and had cut short Chris’s life.
His mother Helen Nkama told the BBC through tears: “My heart is broken, I am speechless, my heart is broken. Police have taken Chris from me, I don’t know what to say. But I want justice to be done for Chris.
Being comforted by family members she added: “This is very racist it’s not good. I need justice to be done, criminal justice.”
His father Prosper Kaba said: “We are shocked to see that, in this century, specialists of the law like police, can shortcut someone’s life, especially a young boy. And from all the questions ‘we have why this, why that?’
“No-one can give any justification on what the police act. For us it’s totally racist and criminal.”
The IOPC said it understood armed police pursued the car because an automatic number plate recognition camera indicated the vehicle was linked to a firearms incident in the previous days.
It said it could not provide further details, citing a Met Police investigation.
Mr Kaba’s Audi was hemmed in by two police cars in narrow residential street Kirkstall Gardens before one round was fired from a police weapon.
It is understood the only gun recovered from the scene was the one involved in the fatal shooting.
In a statement released through the charity Inquest earlier on Wednesday, Mr Kaba’s family called for a murder probe to be launched.
Speaking at the scene on Tuesday, Kim Alleyne, 49, whose daughter Karimah Waite was engaged to Mr Kaba, said of him: “He was so loved. He was so funny. He was super kind. Crazy. He was always happy. He’d do anything for you.
“He was a fiance, he was due to get married in five months’ time. He’s got a baby on the way that he’s never going to see.
“It’s horrible and so shocking and so sad.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Commander Alexis Boon from the Met said: “I would like to express my sincere condolences to the family and friends of the man who died and I recognise the devastating and lasting impact this tragic incident will have on them.
“I understand that this incident is extremely concerning and I would like to reassure the community that the Met is co-operating fully with the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) as they carry out a thorough and independent investigation.”
Some paying tribute at the scene said Mr Kaba was a rapper known as Madix or Mad Itch 67.
Jefferson Bosela, 27, who was Mr Kaba’s cousin, said: “He was a good person, a good, happy guy. He didn’t deserve that. No-one deserves that.
“Nobody deserves to be shot by the police, whether they are a good person or a bad person.”
