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The leader of Britain’s largest education union has suggested Chris Kaba was a victim of “two-tier justice”.
Daniel Kebede, the general secretary of the National Education Union, suggested during a Stand Up to Racism rally in London that Kaba, a violent gangster, was treated unfairly.
Kaba was shot dead by police in south London while trying to ram his way out of a roadblock in September 2022.
Clarifying his comments, Mr Kebede told The Telegraph: “Tommy Robinson was convicted by a court for contempt, he has the opportunity to face British justice.
“The point I was making is he is not a victim. The opportunity to go before a court is something that was denied to Chris Kaba, who was unarmed and shot in the head.”
Sgt Martyn Blake, the officer who killed Kaba, was cleared of murdering the 24-year-old by a jury that took just three hours to find him not guilty.
Kaba’s family tried to stop the press from reporting full details of his criminality and violent past, including how he was a “core member” of one of London’s most feared and dangerous gangs.
But following the not-guilty verdict handed down on Monday at the Old Bailey, the media were able to publish the full details of Kaba’s background.
Mr Kebede, a militant trade unionist, was addressing crowds at a counter-demonstration on Saturday against supporters of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, the far-Right activist known as Tommy Robinson.
Taking to the microphone, he said: “… and hearing Tommy Robinson, carrying on like a victim, like he is some suffragette. If he wants to learn about two-tier justice, maybe he should come and learn about the family of Chris Kaba and those around him.”
Mr Kebede has led and joined protests on issues including racism, the Government’s response to refugees, and the pro-Palestine movement.
When he was campaigning to take over as teaching union leader under the Tories in 2023, the Momentum-supporting Corbynite pledged to create a “united, campaigning union” that must be mobilised “in its entirety” to “take on this shambolic government”.
He has previously urged teachers across the country to take strike action, saying: “We need an inflation-plus pay rise that is fully funded. We don’t need more tax cuts for the rich.”
On Saturday, he joined thousands of people in a counter-protest against Robinson’s supporters, organised by Stand Up to Racism. The counter-demonstration heard from other speakers, including Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott.
Two arrests were made near the Stand Up to Racism protest – one woman was arrested on suspicion of common assault and was later de-arrested, while another arrest was made after an officer was allegedly assaulted.
One person was also arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence after a racist remark was allegedly directed at an officer.
The Met said it had not been confirmed which protest the person was attending.
In a separate action, a few hundred people – including the family of Chris Kaba – gathered on the corner of Trafalgar Square for the United Families and Friends Campaign march to Downing Street, where a letter was handed in for Sir Keir Starmer, in a protest over deaths in custody.
Activists held signs reading “No justice”, “no one forgotten, nothing forgiven” and “no to hatred, no to fascism”.
In the early hours of Aug 30 2022 – just six days before he died – Kaba and three of his gang associates smuggled a handgun into a Notting Hill Carnival afterparty in 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. Miraculously, nobody else was hurt but panicked partygoers were sent running for their lives.
Kaba was not finished, however, and as his injured target tried to escape he chased him from the nightclub into the street and shot him again as he lay on the ground.
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 dead by police.
In February this year, three men, Shemiah Bell, Marcus Pottinger and Connell Bamgboye, were convicted over their role in the attack.
At their trial, prosecutors said if he had still been alive, Kaba would have stood trial for attempted murder.
Far from laying low after the incident, however, Kaba’s armed activities continued the following week.
On Sept 4, just 24 hours before he was shot dead, Kaba and his gang were suspected of carrying out a gun attack outside a primary school in Brixton.
