Heartbroken mother of murdered Wolverhampton boy says teenage knife violence is getting worse

The mother of a school boy who was stabbed to death in a case of mistaken identity says she feels “sad and hopeless” over the increase in knife violence among young people.

Pooja Kanda, 47, from Wolverhampton, says it takes her back to the day her son was killed every time she hears of another teenager losing their life to knife crime in the UK.

Ronan Kanda, 16, was murdered by two teenagers – who had bought a set of swords and a machete online – as he walked home from a friend’s house in June 2022.

The teenagers had intended to harm Ronan’s friend, who one of them had owed money to.

Ronan, who had dreams of becoming a lawyer, had just completed his GCSEs when he was killed.

Ms Kanda, who has been campaigning against the advertising and sale of bladed weapons, believes the situation is getting worse.

“It’s very hard to continue to live in a positive way when you continuously see knife violence growing among these children,” Ms Kanda told the PA news agency.

“Things are definitely getting worse. It’s getting younger and younger, children are now 12 years old, who are being killed.”

A number of teenagers in the UK have lost their lives to violence in the last few weeks, including 12-year-old Leo Ross in Birmingham and 15-year-old Harvey Willgoose in Sheffield.

Leo was fatally stabbed in the stomach on a riverside path in the Hall Green area on January 21, while Harvey was stabbed with a hunting knife at school on February 3.

“Every time something like that happens your heart is broken over and over,” said Ms Kanda.

“I just feel it takes me back to the day, how painful that moment was.

“I reach out to the parents. I text them, email them or find a way to speak to them.”

According to NHS data published in early February, the percentage of hospital admissions due to knife attacks in the zero to 17 age group is the highest in the past decade.

Figures also show an increase of admissions in that age group from 12.4% (467 out of 3,775) in 2022/23 to 13.1% (509 out of 3,900) in 2023/24.

Ms Kanda, who is part of the Government’s coalition to tackle knife crime, has emphasised the need for early intervention and better school policies.

“The schools are the hot spots where this type of behaviour begins,” she said.

“I think prevention needs to start from primary school and the police also need to step up.

“If my son can lose his life, so can any innocent child.”

Ms Kanda says that since losing her son Ronan almost three years ago, her family is broken without him.

“He was the most wonderful, loving, caring, funny, pure soul,” she said.

“He was every mother’s dream son.

“Ronan was the soul of our family and without him we are broken.

“They haven’t just taken my son. They’ve taken my heart.

“I feel really sad and hopeless in this world right now.”

Ms Kanda, who also appears in actor Idris Elba’s documentary Our Knife Crime Crisis, says she is committed to working towards a solution towards the problem as “otherwise we will never have any future”.

A ban on owning and selling zombie-style knives and machetes has been in effect since September 2024.

Ms Kanda hopes to also see a ban on a wider range of dangerous weapons including ninja swords and a review of online knife sales with a tougher enforcement of ID checks.

The Government says it plans to ban ninja swords in the future.

Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson said: “Tackling violence and making our streets safer is at the heart of this government’s Plan for Change.

“We have already banned zombie-style knives, are fast progressing our ban on Ninja swords and are strengthening age-verification checks for buying knives online.

“But we cannot do this alone. One of the first things the Prime Minister did was launch the Coalition to tackle knife crime, which brings together different communities and voices to ensure our work will actually make a difference to young people.”