Mum of murdered Wolverhampton teen says work to cut knife crime must continue one year on from Ronan's Law
Ronan Kanda was stabbed to death at just 16 years old
The mum of a teenager who was murdered with a ninja sword in Wolverhampton said work to cut knife crime must continue, a year on from a law in her son's name coming into force.
Ronan's Law brough a ban on ninja swords on August 1 last year, as well as stricter rules for online retailers selling knives.
Ronan was fatally stabbed by one meters from his home in 2022 in a case of mistaken identity - his murderers had purchased the weapon online and picked it up from the Post Office earlier that day.
On the first anniversary of the legislation, his mum, Pooja Kanda, said there is a lot to celebrate, but also more that needs to be done.
"It's an incredible achievement," she said.
"A year ago we didn't have the things that are happening now so I feel like the world is a bit more safer, but we still need to do so much that I don't feel that I can sit back and say I've done my bit."
In the year to March 2026, during which Ronan's Law has been in place, knife crime here in the West Midlands is down by 15% according to West Midlands Police.
Pooja said her next focus is making sure retailers who sell knives are doing so in line with the law and that bladed weapons aren't ending up on the streets.
She's calling for a licencing system to be set up to monitor every place where knives are being sold.
"If you think about it, there's still other availabilities of these type of weapons and other weapons so we want to make sure that retailers take responsibility and accountability," she said.
One of Ronan’s teenage killers had bought more than 20 knives online, including by using his mother’s ID.
Emotions are understandably high for the Kanda family on this anniversary - Pooja said she never thought she would see her son's name written in law.
Pooja said: "I never thought I could do anything like that, but when I left that courtroom on that day, I knew that I could not allow another child's life to be taken that way."
She's now looking to make the Justice for Ronan Kanda campaign group a registered charity to continue and increase the anti knife crime advocacy work.
Pooja said Ronan would think she was "crazy" for all she has done in him name, but thinks he would also be "very proud".
She's encourage people to take part in a nationwide knife amnesty from next week (August 3) and help join the fight to cut knife crime.