The cold-blooded murder of an unarmed Black man by the British police has gone largely unnoticed amid the British government and the British media's unwavering focus on Queen Elizabeth II's death, sparking anger and outrage.
It was only three days before the Queen died when a Metropolitan Police officer shot dead rapper Chris Kaba, 24, who was due to become a father, in south London after a police pursuit of his car.
On September 8, the Queen’s passing signaled the beginning of several days of national mourning.
The death of the Queen has dominated the Western mainstream media. And Kaba's name has gone viral on social media in a display of outrage and public fury.
Nadine Batchelor-Hunt, a political correspondent for Yahoo News UK, tweeted Tuesday that the office of British Prime Minister Liz Truss would not be addressing Kaba's death.
"When asked if the PM has anything to say to Chris Kaba's family (an unarmed Black man killed by a police officer) No 10 said it won't comment during a period [of] national mourning for the Queen and while the police are investigating it," Batchelor-Hunt tweeted.
Hundreds of people marched on parliament in central London on Saturday, demanding justice for Kaba. His family members were joined by a large number of supporters, activists and several lawmakers.
Last week, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which is looking into the incident, opened a homicide inquiry.
Kaba’s family say they only found out about his death 11 hours after it had happened. “The family found out 11 hours [after he died], so his mum would have woken up and have gone to work not knowing that her son wasn’t alive any more.” Jefferson Bosela, Kaba’s cousin said.
Bosela also confirmed there would be another march planned in London while “issuing a national call to action,” encouraging people to hold their own demonstrations in other locations.
The death of the Queen, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, has already shaped up debates about the UK’s colonial past.
Her passing led to an outpouring of grief in the West. It also revived the British monarchy's colonial legacy, with people across the world seeing her as a symbol of an institution that thrived through violence, oppression, and theft.
The anti-monarchy chorus is growing louder in the United Kingdom with a spate of arrests by security agencies in recent days drawing condemnation from the country’s civil liberties campaigners.
Beyond the UK, people in countries falling under the commonwealth, from Canada to New Zealand, have also started calling for an end to centuries-old monarchical rule.
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