Government "must pass Ronan's Law quickly", says bereaved mum

Ronan Kanda, 16, was stabbed to death with a ninja sword by two teenagers in Wolverhampton.

Ronan Kanda
Author: Kellie MaddoxPublished 9th Jul 2024

The mum of a 16-year-old boy, who was stabbed to death in Wolverhampton, has said the new Labour government must move quickly to bring in a complete ban on all lethal weapons.

Ronan Kanda was attacked with a so-called ninja sword as he walked home in 2022, in a case of mistaken identity.

He died just yards from his front door, after he'd been to buy a gaming console.

His killers, who were 17 when convicted, were able to buy the weapon online, using one of their mother's ID.

During a meeting two weeks ago with victims' families, including the Kanda's, Sir Kier Starmer pledged to make tackling knife crime a "moral mission" if elected.

Pooja Kanda said now Sir Kier is Prime Minister, she expected him to stick to his word: "Labour committed to Ronan's Law, which will include swords and most importantly the sword that killed my son, and this was not included in the previous government's legislation.

"Now that Labour is in government, it is time to put the promised words into action.

"Before this happened to Ronan, I didn't even know that these type of weapons were available. I was shocked to know that they were available to anyone, especially young people. It's disgusting.

"We need a proper ban on these type of weapons, there is no room for them in our society."

In backing Ronan’s Law before the election, Labour committed to a comprehensive review of online knife sales, from purchase through to delivery, with much tougher enforcement of ID checks.

The legislation would ban possession of a wider range of lethal weapons, including zombie knives, machetes and ninja swords.

Pat McFadden, Labour MP for Wolverhampton South East, has supported the Kanda family's campaign and following his re-election last week, he pledged to continue to work hard to help tackle knife crime.

"I think if we made it harder to get hold of these large bladed weapons and we did more on identity checks, that would be a start and it would make some difference," he told us.

"So I hope that's something we can do in this new parliament that's about to begin."

The previous Conservative government announced a new law earlier this year, banning zombie-style knives and machetes, due to come into force in September.

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