The mother of a 16-year-old boy stabbed to death with zombie-style knives has spoken of her grief and called for stronger action against knife crime. Ronan Kanda was killed outside his home in Wolverhampton on 29 June 2022 by two teenagers from his school in a case of mistaken identity. He had just finished his GCSEs and was walking home after buying a PlayStation controller.
Two 17-year-olds were sentenced in July 2023 for Ronan's murder. Prabjeet Veadhesa is serving a minimum term of 18 years and Sukhman Shergill a minimum of 16 years. The court heard that Veadhesa had bought a ninja sword set and a large machete online.
Ronan's mother, Pooja Kanda, has campaigned tirelessly since his death to stamp out knife crime. She said: 'The new law has many loopholes, and hopefully Ronan's law will soon be introduced to enhance this and make it stronger - but there is much more to do.' She welcomed the government's involvement of families like hers in tackling knife crime but stressed that changing the law around online sales is 'such a small step'.
Mrs Kanda warned that schools are 'helpless' to tackle the problem and called for a cultural change. 'There is a culture around knives where they are seen as cool,' she said. 'These children are not normal kids, they are deeply troubled and lacking in morals.' She urged parents to realise that anyone can become a victim, not just gang members.
From today, it is illegal to possess 'zombie-style' knives and machetes in England and Wales, closing a legal loophole. The ban makes it an imprisonable offence to own, make, transport or sell such weapons. People were urged to hand them in at police stations or use surrender bins ahead of the ban.
Mrs Kanda, from Wolverhampton, said: 'Every time I hear about another death on the news my grief hits me again like a ton of bricks. I know there will be another family somewhere, like me, whose life has been ripped apart and they will never, ever recover.'
