The boy behind the ban: Who was Ronan Kanda and what is Ronan's Law?
A 16-year-old boy has been immortalised in law, but to his family and friends he will always just be Ronan.
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Ronan Kanda was killed with a 20 inch “ninja sword”, bought illegally online and collected from a post office by an underage boy, just steps away from his home on Mount Road in Wolverhampton.
Ronan’s Law, which comes into force today (1 August 2025), bans the sale and possession of the weapon which took his life and brings in other measures like mandatory reporting of suspicious knife purchases by retailers, stricter age verification for online sales, and increased penalties for selling weapons to minors.
It also introduces a new offence of possessing a weapon with intent to cause violence and a consultation on a registration scheme for online knife retailers.
Ronan's mum, Pooja Kanda, and his older sister, Nikita, have been fighting for exactly that ever since his death. They have been working with MPs, police and charities to make their dream become law.
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But Pooja told LBC being Ronan’s mum will always be her proudest achievement.
"Ronan was the most incredible son, a devoted brother, and the kindest soul you could ever meet.
“His sense of humour was so uniquely his—it lit up every room.
“He truly was the soul of our family.
“Losing him has shattered us in ways words can’t express.
“With that pain, we’ve been left with no choice but to fight for his legacy, for justice."
Ronan was not his killers’ intended target.
It’s thought the two teenage boys who waited for and attacked Ronan mistook him for a friend whose house he was visiting.
As he walked the five-minute journey home, they came up behind him, both armed, and one of them stabbed him twice with the sword.
One of Ronan’s closest friends, Joe Millington, speaking publicly for the first time since Ronan’s death, told LBC "I think everyone knows Wolverhampton's not the nicest of areas... so if I'd have heard anyone else’s name I'd have thought 'possibly', but because it was Ronan's I was instantly set on 'no way' and I'd say I shut it out for a solid year... he never caused anything, he was never involved in anything that was wrong.
“He was fully innocent.
“Why Ronan?
“The most innocent, innocent lad out there."
