The mother of a boy killed by a ninja sword has revealed his attacker had 25 blades which he got ‘as easily as buying a loaf of bread’ – as a new ban comes into force.
Ronan Kanda was brutally murdered yards away from his Wolverhamption home in 2022 when two 17-year-old boys mistook him for someone else.
A ban on the weapon – the ninja sword – has now come into effect today following a campaign by Ronan’s family.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain this morning, his mother Pooja said: ‘The murderer had 25 of these weapons – it wasn’t just one, two or three.
‘When I saw the ninja sword for the first time in the courtroom I fainted because I didn’t know at that point how the large the weapon was.
‘It was horrifying knowing Ronan had to bear that in his last moment.’
Ronan’s sister Nikita added: ‘The murderer literally brought it as easily as buying a loaf of bread. He literally brought it and collected it without ID.’
It is now illegal to have, sell, make or import ninja swords under new legislation that has been called Ronan’s Law.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain this morning, Ronan’s mother Pooja said: ‘The murderer had 25 of these weapons – it wasn’t just one, two or three’
Ronan’s sister Nikita added: ‘The murderer literally brought it as easily as buying a loaf of bread. He literally brought it and collected it without ID’
Ronan Kanda, pictured, was a victim of mistaken identity. As of today, ninja swords will be banned in the UK
As of today, 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.
Anyone caught with a ninja sword in private could face six months in prison, set to increase to two years under plans in the Crime and Policing Bill.
Under Ronan’s Law, the Home Office also announced a raft of measures including making retailers report bulk or suspicious sales to police, and increasing the jail sentence for selling weapons to children, or illegal blades such as zombie knives, to two years.
In September a ban on ‘zombie-style’ knives and machetes came into place – but the knife which was used to kill Ronan was not in the list, which his mother labelled as ‘bizarre’.
Ronan was fatally stabbed by Prabjeet Veadhesa and Sukhman Shergill, both 17, as he walked back home from a friend’s house where he had gone to buy a PlayStation controller in Wolverhampton.
In what judge Mr Justice Choudhury called a ‘tragic coincidence’, Veadhesa and Shergill had seen Ronan leaving the house where their intended victim lived and assumed he was the boy they were looking for.
In 2023, the two were jailed for life, with Mr Justice Choudhury branding it a ‘cowardly attack’ while jailing Veadhesa for a minimum of 18 years and Shergill for a minimum of 16 years.
Prabjeet Veadhesa and Sukhman Shergill, both 17, were involved in a brutal attack on Ronan Kanda from behind as he walked to a friend’s house to buy a PlayStation controller in Wolverhampton
A judge lifted reporting restrictions which prevented the media from naming the killers, Prabjeet Veadhesa, left, and Sukhman Shergill, right
The judge, Mr Justice Choudhary said it was ‘disturbing’ that the killers were able to buy the murder weapons with ‘such ease’ from the internet
Pooja Kanda concluded: ‘It’s a very bittersweet moment – a moment no mother wants to have but I am here and I believe that it shouldn’t have happened to Ronan. Ronan should have come home to me.
‘He was on his way back from his friend’s house when the murderer took him for someone else. It was cruel.’
Nikita Kanda added: ‘The past three years have been the worst few years of my life.
‘The size of that sword – it’s so obvious a ninja sword should not be available to buy.
‘The murderer literally bought the weapon and collected it from the post office without ID.’
