Looking at the UK media one might be forgiven for thinking in the recent trial involving police officer Martyn Blake it was twenty-four year-old expectant father and aspiring architect Chris Kaba that was on trial, such has been the “merciless autopsy” on his life since the 21st October verdict in spite of him being the victim. (1)
The coverage can be encapsulated the Spiked headline “Chris Kaba was a gangster, not a victim,” with the suggestion that “the case against policeman Martyn Blake was fuelled by identity politics, not evidence.” (2) The inference that the same Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), that disproportionately charges Afrikan people and has a track record of letting killer police off scot free is now suddenly “woke” (their pejorative term of choice these days) is the kind of deranged thinking that typifies the white grievance movement. (3) The reality is that this is one of the rare occasions that the CPS followed its guidelines. (4)
The trial judge rightly deemed Chris Kaba’s history irrelevant to the trial but the white grievance establishment as is its wont gorged itself on making him a deserving victim. (5) They quoted from the same playbook after the police “execution” of Mark Duggan in 2011. He did have two minor criminal convictions possession of cannabis and handling stolen goods but was ludicrously touted as one of the “most violent criminals,” not just in London or even the UK but the entire continent. (6) Before Mark Duggan, Azelle Rodney, who was shot to death by officer Tony Long in 2005 was depicted in the press as a “career criminal.” (7)
The Azelle Rodney case is relevant for a number of reasons, not least because Long’s subsequent trial in 2015 was the last time an officer faced a murder trial for a fatal shooting – ending in acquittal. (8)
In some respects the Azelle Rodney killing was even more egregious than that of Chris Kaba. The police fought tooth and nail to avoid an inquest claiming disclosure of intelligence gained from intercepts was unlawful and could not be shown to a coroner. Instead a public inquiry was held in 2013, chaired by Former High Court judge Sir Christopher Holland. (9) It found that “there was no lawful justification for shooting so as to kill.” The inquiry found grave, avoidable errors in the police operation and most crucially, Long’s account of event did not match the evidence. In common parlance, he lied (10):
“Never before has there been such a clear and unequivocal finding in a fatal case of wrongdoing by a state agent (police officer) in the line of his duty. “ (11)
In spite of this damning conclusion, the trial jury saw fit to find him not guilty at the trial, adding to their entrenched, entitled notion of impunity. (12)
Yet in the wake of the Martyn verdict, Tony Long, once dubbed by a colleague as “the Met’s very own serial killer,” has been regaled by the white grievance media to attempt to gaslight everybody, fallaciously suggesting that when the police kill someone “society’s immediate response is to prosecute them.” There are scores of Afrikan families, grieving loved ones killed by the state over several decades who know this is not the case. But he exposes himself as an unrepentant killer, one who is in tune with the British body politic, nonetheless:
“Those who find themselves shot by police are rarely innocents. But our very British obsession with never speaking ill of the dead invariably leaves the police treated like the criminals while the deceased, however bad, are painted as caring fathers-to-be, talented musicians, footballers and, most importantly, victims.” (13)
What this proves that the police can advance any “honest belief” (or lie) and it will be amplified by a complicit media ecosystem. A prime example is the so-called £10,000 bounty offered by Kaba’s “notorious 67 Gang” on Blake as a result of the acquittal. Parroted wholesale by the press, the only identifiable source is the police themselves although they have yet to declare any arrests or even investigation for this crime under the Offences Against the Person Act (OAPA) 1861. In contrast, a convicted rioter that unalived himself in prison is hailed as a political prisoner. (14)
We are left with an arm of the state that from the Macperson to Casey is consistently deemed institutionally racist and corrupt but refuses to acknowledge this, let alone reform. In spite of this they word continues to be regarded as gospel truth. Labour’s decision to scrap part two of the Leveson Inquiry, which was due to examine the relationship between the media and the police, possibly at the behest of media barons, extinguishes the remote chance of press accountability. (15)
In response to parlous state of affairs, the People’s Tribunal on Police Killings (PTPK) its aim is to “radically challenge the existing structures and the ongoing collusion that had led to this failure of justice.” Supported by the United Families & Friends Campaign, Migrant Media, Black Lives Matter and 4WardEverUK, PTPK is calling for the following actions (16):
- Reject the inquest system and replace it with criminal trials.
- Reject any more governmental inquiries.
- Reject the language of liberalism that is set by the government.
- Accept that the amount of evidence against the police, including video and eye witnesses, is undeniable and we will not allow the state to suppress this evidence from the public any longer
- Accept the fact that we need no more legislation, no more excuses, no more police training. The criminal law simply needs to be applied to police officers. (17)
PTPK “will expose the nature of the above and propose a series of actions to make real revolutionary change that is needed.” They are planning their first intervention on 4-5 April 2025. (18)
(1) Mathilda Mallinson and Helena Wadia (25/10/24) How the Media ‘Justified’ the Shooting of Chris Kaba and then ‘Conducted a Merciless Autopsy’ on his Life. https://bylinetimes.com/2024/10/25/chris-kaba-shooting-metropolitan-police/; Leah Mahon (28/12/22) The Killing of Chris Kaba. https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news/2022/12/28/the-killing-of-chris-kaba/
(2) Luke Gittos (22/10/24) Chris Kaba was a gangster, not a victim. https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/10/22/chris-kaba-was-a-gangster-not-a-victim/
(3) Aamna Mohdin and Carmen Aguilar García (07/02/23) Defendants of colour more likely to be charged than white people, finds CPS study. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/07/defendants-of-colour-more-likely-to-be-charged-than-white-people-finds-cps-study; Janet Alder (2024) Defiance: Racial Injustice, Police Brutality, A Sister’s Fight for the Truth. Dialogue Books. pp. 246-251; Ishena Robinson (26/08/22) How Woke Went From “Black” to “Bad”. https://www.naacpldf.org/woke-black-bad/
(4) Sky News (23/10/24) Why did Chris Kaba’s killer stand trial – and what are the laws on police shootings? https://news.sky.com/story/why-did-chris-kabas-killer-stand-trial-and-what-are-the-laws-on-police-shootings-13238608
(5) Tara Lai Quinlan (29/10/24) Chris Kaba’s criminal history shouldn’t change how we think about the Martyn Blake trial – but it could affect future cases. https://theconversation.com/chris-kabas-criminal-history-shouldnt-change-how-we-think-about-the-martyn-blake-trial-but-it-could-affect-future-cases-242051
(6) BBC News A (23/09/13) Mark Duggan ‘among Europe’s most violent criminals’, inquest told. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24210480
(7) BBC News B (05/07/13) Azelle Rodney death: ‘No justification’ for police shooting https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23193571
(8) Vikram Dodd (03/07/15) Azelle Rodney shooting: police marksman cleared of murder. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jul/03/police-marksman-anthony-long-cleared-azelle-rodney-murder
(9) BBC News B. Op. cit.; Sir Christopher Holland (2023) The report of the Azelle Rodney Inquiry. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-report-of-the-azelle-rodney-inquiry
(10) Leslie Thomas KC (05/07/13) DAzelle Rodney: Unlawfully killed https://gardencourtchambers.co.uk/azelle-rodney-unlawfully-killed/
(11) Ibid
(12) Frances Webber (18/01/22) Police impunity – in and beyond the pandemic. https://irr.org.uk/article/policing-impunity-entrenched/
(13) Tony Long (13/10/24) I was an armed police officer who stood trial for murder – something has to change. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/10/22/tony-long-armed-police-officer-stood-trial-something-change/
(14) Ryan Merrifield (22/10/24) CAUSING CHAOS Inside Chris Kaba’s notorious ’67 gang’ terrorising streets of London & linked to string of murders & violent attacks. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/31233405/inside-chris-kabas-notorious-67-gang/; Bradley Jolly (23/10/24) Chris Kaba: Met Police cop ‘has £10,000 bounty on his head’ after he’s cleared of murder. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/chris-kaba-met-police-cop-33950028; Tom Armstrong (21/10/24) Peter Lynch – Political Prisoner – Dies in Jail Starmer and the judiciary have his blood on their hands. https://www.freespeechbacklash.com/article/peter-lynch-political-prisoner-dies-jail
(15) Megan Finnis (10/05/23) Racism In Policing, From Macpherson To Casey: Has Anything Changed? https://www.hja.net/expert-comments/opinion/civil-liberties-human-rights/racism-in-policing-from-macpherson-to-casey-has-anything-changed/; Jim Waterson (25/07/24) Keir Starmer confirms he has no plans to revive second stage of Leveson inquiry. https://www.theguardian.com/media/article/2024/jul/25/keir-starmer-confirms-he-has-no-plans-to-revive-second-stage-of-leveson-inquiry
(16) Ken Fero (21/10/24) After 50 years of state excuses the People’s Tribunal is announced. https://peoples-tribunal.org/2024/10/21/after-50-years-of-state-excuses-the-peoples-tribunal-is-announced/
(17) Ibid.
(18) Ibid.
So tonight we ask the question:
Deaths in custody: Will we ever get Justice? Part 15
1) Were you aware of the Azelle Rodney case?
2) have the press conducted a “merciless autopsy” on Chris Kaba’s life or just reported the truth?
3) Is is true that “those shot by police are rarely innocents” while ”the police treated like the criminals”?
4) How can we challenge negative media narratives?
5) Is the People’s Tribunal on Police Killings the right response?
Our Special Guest:
Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and an Afrikan-Centred Education Consultant. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of over 40 years standing. He is the visionary that brought forth the Mosiah Season in 1998 and prime mover behind what bacame the interim National Afrikans People’s Parliamnent. Bro. Ldr. is the author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An Afrikan-Centred Approach To Excellence.
Sis. Susan Alexander: is the mother of Azelle Rodney who was shot to death by the police in 2005 and has been fighting for justice ever since. A 2013 public inquiry found that Azelle was unlawfully killed but the police killer was acquitted of murder two years later.
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