The family of murdered schoolgirl Elianne Andam have backed the government's renewed crackdown on zombie knives and machetes.
Elianne, 15, was stabbed to death on her way to school in Croydon on September 27 2023.
Elianne’s cousin, Rev Denzil Larbi said: “I’m all for endorsing the knife ban. These weapons are lethal weapons, no young person should ever hold such a weapon.
“I’m hoping that serious measures are taken to make sure they stay off our streets.”
Elianne, 15, was stabbed to death on her way to school in Croydon on September 27 2023.
Elianne’s cousin, Rev Denzil Larbi said: “I’m all for endorsing the knife ban. These weapons are lethal weapons, no young person should ever hold such a weapon.
“I’m hoping that serious measures are taken to make sure they stay off our streets.”
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Yeah, I mean, Eliane was just basically one of the good cousins that we had.
00:06 We have a really big family.
00:09 She kind of loved law.
00:12 She was bright and bubbly.
00:14 She was just a lovely, normal teenager.
00:17 And so not having her around, not because she was sick or anything,
00:22 but because someone violently took her life,
00:25 it's been really, really hard to process why it happened
00:29 and all the things that led up to it and the questions we have about why it happened and so on.
00:35 So we're devastated beyond words.
00:39 But we're really looking to allow her legacy to live on.
00:42 She loved law. She loved justice.
00:45 She loved helping people.
00:47 And so we don't want any family to go through what we've gone through.
00:50 So we really want to start putting things in place in order to honour her legacy.
00:54 But it's been still raw for the family.
00:57 It's still difficult for the family, but we are just pressing on.
01:00 The faith has actually brought us together.
01:03 Faith has actually given us a bit of hope,
01:05 knowing that we believe that Eliane, she loved Jesus, so she will be in heaven.
01:10 But it's definitely got us really thinking deeply about the fact that it happened to us.
01:15 Literally, Eliane died two minutes away from where I preach every single Sunday.
01:20 And so we recognise that this situation can happen to anyone.
01:24 And so it's just really mindful that there's a lot that needs to happen in Croydon,
01:28 a lot that needs to happen in Croydon.
01:30 But our faith has brought us together. It's brought us hope.
01:33 It's brought us a sense of love during this time
01:36 and a sense of hope to help other people not go through what we're going through.
01:40 It feels like it because these knives have been around for a long time.
01:45 But it's better to do it anyways.
01:48 I think I'm all for it. I'm all for endorsing the ban of it.
01:53 Because these weapons are lethal weapons. No young person should ever hold such a weapon.
01:57 And it will certainly do damage to a lot of people.
01:59 And it has done damage to a lot of lives as well.
02:02 So I'm really hoping that it goes through
02:04 and serious measures are continuously taken to make sure it stays out of our streets.