Police firearms officer named as he denies murder of Chris Kaba

A Metropolitan police firearms officer has denied the charge of murdering Chris Kaba, who was shot dead by police in south London in 2022.

Martyn Blake, 40, entered his formal plea of not guilty during a pre-trial hearing at the Old Bailey in London.

An order preventing the naming of the officer was lifted by the judge – Mark Lucraft KC, the recorder of London – on Friday. The officer had until this point been known publicly only as NX121.

Kaba, who was 24, was killed by a single gunshot fired by a police officer on 5 September 2022 in Streatham, south London.

He was in a dark Audi car which came to a stop and was surrounded by police. The single shot pierced the car windscreen and Kaba was pronounced dead hours later.

Blake spoke when the formal murder charge was put to him by a court official.

When asked to plead, the firearms officer replied “not guilty”, watched by friends and family of Kaba who were also in court.

A date for the full trial before a jury was set for 2 October and will be presided over by Mr Justice Goss.

Blake was asked to stand as the recorder of London explained to him the dates of forthcoming pre trial hearings.

He was released on bail.

The decision to name the officer was welcomed by a charity supporting the Kaba family.

Deborah Coles, the director of Inquest, said: “Police cannot and should not be above the law. Accountability for police officers and forces involved in death, even where evidence of criminality and wrongdoing is identified, is extremely rare.

“In any other murder trial, the accused would be publicly named. This case is no different. We welcome today’s decision.”