The sister of a schoolboy murdered with a 20-inch ninja sword has hailed his ‘legacy’, as a new law in his name banning the fearsome weapons takes effect.
From today, it is illegal to have, sell, make or import the blades as the final part of anti-knife crime measures introduced under Ronan’s Law, named after Ronan Kanda.
The 16-year-old was killed in a ‘senseless’ case of mistaken identity just yards from his home in Wolverhampton in June 2022.
Ronan’s sister Nikita Kanda told Metro the achievement is ‘bittersweet’, adding: ‘The fact that Ronan’s name is now going to be a law, and not just any law, but a law that’s going to protect future children – what a legacy to have, and that really means a lot.
‘However, it doesn’t bring him back. And I think that’s the bitter moment that he doesn’t come back after this, after making such a difference.’
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Under Ronan’s Law, sentences for selling weapons to under 18s will be increased from six months to up to two years and can be applied across the board from the individual selling the knife to the boss of the company.
That harsher punishment will also apply to the sale or supply of prohibited offensive weapons such as recently banned zombie-style knives.
Describing the three years since her brother’s murder as ‘the worst of my life’, Nikita said: ‘Ronan was such a massive part of my life.
‘He was my only brother, my only sibling in general, and he was just an amazing boy. He wasn’t into gangs, he wasn’t into knife crime.
‘He wasn’t the stereotypical people you associate with knife crime. He wasn’t that. To lose him in such a tragic circumstances absolutely tore our world apart.
‘And it just made me realise, if this can happen to him, this can happen to anybody.
‘There’s so many mothers out there who are scared for their children’s lives, because they know that right now, the UK does have a knife problem, and that problem is only going to get worse.
‘And there’s people like us who have borne the brunt of it, who have seen it all unfold, who can try their best to make a difference.
‘I’m very aware that there is not just one solution with knife crime, but it’s everything that we have to try, all those avenues, because he deserved better, and so do other kids now deserve better.’
A new offence of possessing an offensive weapon with intent for violence will be introduced in the Crime and Policing Bill which will come with a prison sentence of up to four years in prison.
Nikita said the next step will be to get ‘a comprehensive licensing scheme’ in place to regulate the other blades still available for sale.
A review earlier this year found that age verification for buying knives online was ‘a huge vulnerability’, with the Met Police’s national lead for knife crime saying they are easier to buy than paracetamol.
During the trial of Ronan’s killers, it emerged that one of them had bought more than 20 knives online, including by using his mother’s ID.
‘He was able to just do what he wanted, even though he was 16 years old,’ Nikita said. ‘And I just found that absolutely ridiculous.’
If she could speak to Ronan today, after fighting so hard to secure meaningful change in his name, Nikita said: ‘I’d say I’m so sorry that it took your life to make such a difference to the world, something that, to be honest with you, is so obvious that ninja sword shouldn’t be sort of bought and sold and manufactured.
‘But I would also say well done, because you made a massive difference just by being yourself, really, just by your character.
‘Because, in all honesty, if Ronan was a naughty child who, unfortunately, got involved in these behaviours, we wouldn’t be able to sit here and talk about him and campaign.
‘I think his character is the reason we’re here today as well, because he had such an amazing character.’
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said when the ban was first announced earlier this year: ‘We are acting with urgency to bring forward measures to prevent deadly weapons from getting into the wrong hands and will continue to do whatever is needed to prevent young people being killed on our streets as part of our mission to halve knife crime over the next decade.’
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