More than 140 days after he was killed by Hamilton police, family of Erixon Kabera still waits for answers

Aura Carreño Rosas · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 03, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Parfait Karekezi usually leaves his telephone connected soundless whenever helium goes to furniture astatine night, but connected the evening of Nov. 9, helium decided to permission the ringer on.

He got a call astatine astir 1 a.m. informing him his brother, Erixon Kabera, had died.

"Everything went connected clasp ... I was not capable to think," helium told CBC Hamilton.

Kabera had been changeable by police officers successful his Hamilton flat gathering and died of his injuries successful the aboriginal hours of Nov. 10.

Karekezi, 38, near location successful his pyjamas and drove with his woman from his location successful Gatineau, Que., to Hamilton. By the clip helium arrived, his brother's assemblage had already been taken to Toronto for an autopsy.

It's been much than 140 days since Kabera was killed. He was 43, the oldest of 5 siblings and begetter of 3 children. 

For Karekezi, his member was "everything." 

"Erixon was not lone my brother, helium was my friend. He was my relation model. He was my mentor," helium said.

Investigation with SIU director

Ontario's constabulary watchdog, the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), took implicit the probe successful November.

Hamilton constabulary said idiosyncratic called on Nov. 9 to study a man "at their doorway believed to beryllium successful possession of a handgun." 

In their archetypal statement, the SIU said Hamilton officers responded to reports of a antheral "acting successful a threatening manner" and shots were fired. Initially, they said there was an "exchange of gunfire." The adjacent day, SIU issued different connection saying, based connected "further investigation", "it does not look that the antheral discharged a firearm," but alternatively 2 constabulary officers did.

A replica handgun was aboriginal recovered astatine the scene, the SIU said. 

On its website, the constabulary watchdog says it aims to implicit investigations wrong 120 days.

"However, this is not ever imaginable arsenic each probe has its ain requirements and procedures," said a spokesperson for the SIU.

"In immoderate cases, including decease cases, investigators whitethorn request to hold for extracurricular experts and agencies to implicit reports specified arsenic toxicology and pathology reports."

The SIU said investigators successful the lawsuit person completed interviews and collected and analyzed evidence. A study with each the findings is with the SIU manager for review.

"Depending connected the evidence, the Director volition origin a transgression complaint to beryllium laid against the [officer] where grounds beryllium for doing so, oregon adjacent the record without immoderate charges being laid," said the spokesperson.

The SIU said they're successful connection with the family.

"We recognize however hard waiting tin beryllium for persons progressive successful our investigations, including the families of those who person been earnestly injured oregon who person died," a spokesperson said.

A 'beautiful' soul and a generous and charismatic person

Meanwhile, Karekezi says, his beingness has been "on hold." 

"I mislaid a confidant. I mislaid idiosyncratic who had each my secrets," helium said. "I'm lost."

Karekezi said helium hasn't been capable to decently determination connected from his brother's decease owed to the "shock" and disorder the concern has caused.

"We privation the SIU to recognize that putting radical [through this] for a precise agelong time, it breaks their heart," helium said.

Karekezi said his member was a "beautiful" psyche and a generous and charismatic person who helped galore and was known successful the community.

He said Kabera, who immigrated to Canada from Rwanda, worked for the authorities antecedently and was an upstanding idiosyncratic who helped him record his taxes for the archetypal clip and showed him "how to beryllium a bully national successful Canada."

"He had large dreams, large plans for things that helium wanted to achieve," helium said.

Karekezi said the wait, on with the theories others travel up with trying to marque consciousness of what happened to Kabera, has been painful.

He said helium wants Hamilton constabulary to "show that Hamilton is simply a metropolis wherever everyone, particularly Black people, consciousness safe."

The lawyer representing the household is Julian Falconer, who has a agelong past of engagement successful cases of captive rights and constabulary accountability.

A GoFundMe was acceptable up past twelvemonth to assistance Kabera's household screen ineligible fees.