On October the 29th thousands joined the 24th annual United Families and Friends Campaign (UFFC) procession, demanding justice for those that have died in police (and other state agencies) custody. (1) Among the marchers for the first time this year were the families of Oladeji Omishore and Chris Kaba, who died following police contact in June and September of this year respectively. (2)
Of the hundreds that have died in custody since David Oluwale in 1969 (3), we can count only one conviction, PC Monk manslaughter in 2021 for killing ex-premiership footballer Dalian Atkinson in 2016. (4) Thus, the fight for justice continues. Indeed, a delegation from the procession handed a letter in to 10 Downing Street, demanding a meeting with the new Prime Minister, the Home Secretary and the Mayor of London. (5) It will be interesting to see if there is any response from recently re-installed Home Secretary Suella Braverman, under whose brief this falls. (6) Braverman has been particularly eager to trumpet her delirious cruelty as part of a government that would like to see the type of protest organized by UFFC banned. (7). It is as if this conservative regime would like to make manifest the maxim attributed to Harlem Renaissance author Zora Neale Hurston: “If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.”
As it stands, there seems little prospect that the killings will stop as each fatality is accompanied by police duplicity, often aided by a willing media. (8) In fact, the “dire” Metropolitan Police has been exposed as a haven for criminals in its ranks, while they are recruiting yet more convicted felons and maintaining staggeringly lax disciplinary procedures that “empowers officers to abuse power with impunity.” (9)
The great gaslighting project about racial progress in the UK that brought us the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) report last year it set to continue. (10) This time it will be fronted by unhinged “anti-woke” (that some suggest is a dog whistle for anti-Black) warriors like Braverman and international trade minister Kemi Badenoch. They are lining up the levers of state for more repression, criminalisation and demonisation of our community while curtailing the capacity to protest. (11) Our community must have a reckoning with itself in how to proactively support the victims of state repression while advancing preventative measures to safeguard our present and our future.
(1) Nina Lloyd (29/10/22) Thousands take to the streets to protest over deaths in police custody. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/rishi-sunak-sean-rigg-downing-street-british-government-metropolitan-police-b2213511.html
(2) INQUEST (28/10/22) Bereaved families march to Downing Street to demand justice for deaths in custody https://www.inquest.org.uk/uffc-2022?fbclid=IwAR1905Z-cogvlPITMWpc5MI2LGYrl5Dq6SRHylPYRkeIx_hubRv-xOqiyI4; Ibid.
(3) Afrika Speaks with Alkebu-Lan on Galaxy Radio (15/06/20) Have we done Enough to Support Death in Police Custody Families?. https://www.alkebulan.org/2020/06/14/aswag-284-bdc-support/
(4) BBC News (29/06/21) Dalian Atkinson: PC Benjamin Monk jailed for ex-footballer’s death https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-57603091
(5) Annabel Bayley (29/10/22) Thousands march to Downing Street in protest over deaths in police custody. https://www.upday.com/uk/thousands-take-to-the-streets-to-protest-over-deaths-in-police-custody
(6) Adam Bienkov (27/10/22) The Suella Braverman Scandal: How Rishi Sunak has Quickly Traded ‘Integrity’ for Power. https://bylinetimes.com/2022/10/27/suella-braverman-scandal-rishi-sunak-home-office-leaks/
(7) Clár Ní Chonghaile (06/10/22) What the hell is wrong with Suella Braverman? https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-suella-braverman/; Gavin Cordon (17/06/22) Peers and MPs warn of ‘hostile environment’ for peaceful protest. https://www.thenational.wales/news/20216334.peers-mps-warn-hostile-environment-peaceful-protest/
(8) Berk Uyal (30/10/22) Chris Kaba family say there was ‘no chase’ before shooting. https://www.wandsworthguardian.co.uk/news/23088089.chris-kaba-family-say-no-chase-shooting/
(9) End Violence Against Women (17/10/22) Casey Review highlights how the Met enables and empowers officers to abuse power with impunity. https://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/casey-review-finds-misogyny-met-police/; Harrison Jones (28/03/21) 150 serving Metropolitan Police officers are convicted criminals. https://metro.co.uk/2021/03/28/150-serving-metropolitan-police-officers-are-convicted-criminals-14319599/; Martin Bentham (22/03/22) ‘Dire’ Met Police takes on 100 officers with criminal records in the past two years. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/met-police-daniel-morgan-report-officers-criminal-records-b989716.html
(10) Afrika Speaks with Alkebu-Lan on Galaxy Radio (05/04/21) UK: Institutionally Racist No More? https://www.alkebulan.org/2021/04/05/aswag-326-cred-report/; Pankaj Mishra (26/10/22) What’s Not on Sunak’s To-Do List? Ending Racism. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/whats-not-on-sunaks-to-do-list-ending-racism/2022/10/26/a467421c-54fc-11ed-ac8b-08bbfab1c5a5_story.html; Rakib Ehsan (25/10/22) Is Rishi Sunak the ‘wrong’ type of ethnic minority?. https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/10/25/is-rishi-sunak-the-wrong-type-of-ethnic-minority/
(11) Damon Young (26/09/22) Woke is now a dog whistle for Black. What’s next? https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2022/09/26/damon-young-woke-is-now-dog-whistle-black-whats-next/;
we ask the question:
Deaths in custody Part 14 – Will we ever get Justice?
1) How does support now compare with the post George Floyd campaigns of 2020?
2) Is the Met effectively a criminal organisation?
3) What does “anti-woke” really mean?
4) How can we proactively address the issue of deaths in custody?
Our very special guest:
Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and an Afrikan-Centered Education Consultant. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of nearly 40 years standing, a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An African-Centred Approach To Excellence.
Sis. Marcia Rigg: is the older sister of Bro. Sean Rigg who died in Brixton Police station on 21/08/2008. Sis. Marcia has lead the campaign to get justice for her brother, compelling her to give up her 20-year career as a legal PA in the City, as leading the campaign “has been like a full time job” but it has scored some significant legal victories against the state. Sis. Marcia is an organiser in the United Families and Friends Campaign (UFFC), a coalition of those affected by deaths in police, prison and psychiatric custody.