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

Parfait Karekezi usually leaves his phone on silent whenever he goes to bed at night, but on the evening of Nov. 9, he decided to leave the ringer on.

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

"Everything went on hold ... I was not able to think," he told CBC Hamilton.

Kabera had been shot by police officers in his Hamilton apartment building and died of his injuries in the early hours of Nov. 10.

Karekezi, 38, left home in his pyjamas and drove with his wife from his home in Gatineau, Que., to Hamilton. By the time he arrived, his brother's body had already been taken to Toronto for an autopsy.

It's been more than 140 days since Kabera was killed. He was 43, the oldest of five siblings and father of three children. 

For Karekezi, his brother was "everything." 

"Erixon was not only my brother, he was my friend. He was my role model. He was my mentor," he said.

Investigation with SIU director

Ontario's police watchdog, the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), took over the investigation in November.

Hamilton police said someone called on Nov. 9 to report a man "at their door believed to be in possession of a handgun." 

In their initial statement, the SIU said Hamilton officers responded to reports of a man "acting in a threatening manner" and shots were fired. Initially, they said there was an "exchange of gunfire." The next day, SIU issued another statement saying, based on "further investigation", "it does not appear that the man discharged a firearm," but rather two police officers did.

A replica handgun was later recovered at the scene, the SIU said. 

On its website, the police watchdog says it aims to complete investigations within 120 days.

"However, this is not always possible as each investigation has its own requirements and procedures," said a spokesperson for the SIU.

"In some cases, including death cases, investigators may need to wait for outside experts and agencies to complete reports such as toxicology and pathology reports."

The SIU said investigators in the case have completed interviews and collected and analyzed evidence. A report with all the findings is with the SIU director for review.

"Depending on the evidence, the Director will cause a criminal charge to be laid against the [officer] where grounds exist for doing so, or close the file without any charges being laid," said the spokesperson.

The SIU said they're in communication with the family.

"We understand how difficult waiting can be for persons involved in our investigations, including the families of those who have been seriously injured or who have died," a spokesperson said.

A 'beautiful' soul and a generous and charismatic person

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

"I lost a confidant. I lost someone who had all my secrets," he said. "I'm lost."

Karekezi said he hasn't been able to properly move on from his brother's death due to the "shock" and confusion the situation has caused.

"We want the SIU to understand that putting people [through this] for a very long time, it breaks their heart," he said.

Karekezi said his brother was a "beautiful" soul and a generous and charismatic person who helped many and was known in the community.

He said Kabera, who immigrated to Canada from Rwanda, worked for the government previously and was an upstanding person who helped him file his taxes for the first time and showed him "how to be a good citizen in Canada."

"He had big dreams, big plans for things that he wanted to achieve," he said.

Karekezi said the wait, along with the theories others come up with trying to make sense of what happened to Kabera, has been painful.

He said he wants Hamilton police to "show that Hamilton is a city where everyone, especially Black people, feel safe."

The lawyer representing the family is Julian Falconer, who has a long history of involvement in cases of prisoner rights and police accountability.

A GoFundMe was set up last year to help Kabera's family cover legal fees.