Family of murdered Ronan Kanda call on Prime Minister to ban sales of machetes and zombie knives
Dani Crawshaw meets the family of Ronan Kanda as they urge the Prime Minister to act on the sales of machetes and zombie knives
The family of a 16-year-old who was stabbed to death near his home in Wolverhampton have written an open letter to the prime minister.
Ronan Kanda was stabbed twice on Mount Road, in Lanesfield in June 2023. In a shocking case of mistaken identity, his injuries were too catastrophic to survive and he died at the scene.
The Kanda family is now urging Rishi Sunak to ban the sales of all machetes and zombie knives online. It comes exactly a year after his funeral.
In an interview with ITV News Central his mother Pooja Kanda said: "It will stop another family going through what I'm going through.
"You can't ignore the problem anymore it's getting out of hand, Ronan wasn't into gangs, he was just walking down the street - if it can happen to him it can happen to anyone.
"So many that will have their children with them, but if youths can't access them so easily then maybe they can't glamourise their behaviour."
Veadhesa was sentenced to detention for life with a minimum term of 18 years. He will also serve eight months concurrently for possession of a bladed article.
Shergill was sentenced to detention for life with a minimum term of 16 years. He will also serve eight months concurrently for possession of a bladed article.
Veadhesa had collected a Ninja sword set and a large machete from a local post office which he had bought online.
Ronan's family acknowledge no single measure will solve knife crime - but if an online sale ban reduces the problem - prevents a family from going through what they have - it will be worthwhile.
Currently the government is considering whether to introduce new legislation to restrict online sales of machetes and large knives. But Ronan's family want an outright ban.
A government spokesperson said: "Every life lost to knife crime is one too many. That is why we have announced proposals to ban the sale and possession of zombie style knives and machetes, as well as to introduce additional powers for the police to seize knives and tougher penalties for their possession and sale.
"Since 2019, we have removed 100,000 knives and offensive weapons from our streets through stop and search, surrender initiatives and other targeted police action."