Zia Yusuf is calling for the kirpan to be banned from being carried in public after 18-year-old Henry Nowak was stabbed to death last December.
Vickrum Digwa has been convicted of murder (Image: Hampshire Police/PA Wire)
Calls have been made to ban the kirpan after the tragic murder of Henry Nowak. The 18-year-old student was repeatedly stabbed to death by Vickrum Digwa with the Sikh ceremonial knife while on his way home from a night out with friends last December.
Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s spokesperson for Home Affairs, has called for the kirpan to be banned from public carrying in the UK. He previously said: “White people are now demonstrably the biggest victims of racism in Britain.” It comes after Digwa, 23, was convicted of murder at Southampton Crown Court while his mother, 53-year-old Kiran Kaur, was found guilty of assisting an offender. So what do you think? Vote in our poll and join the debate in the comments section below.
Mr Yusuf said in a post on X last Friday (May 29): “I don’t care what religion you are. NOBODY other than law enforcement will get to carry deadly weapons under a Reform government. Reform will repeal the exemption for Sikhs to carry the kirpan. We will deploy stop and search and get deadly weapons off our streets.”
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A kirpan is carried in a sheath and must be worn in a holster under Sikh practice. Unsheathing it for aggressive reasons violates the religion’s code of conduct.
Zia Yusuf has called for the UK to ban the kirpan (Image: Getty)
It’s legal to possess a kirpan for religious reasons in the UK (Image: Getty)
It’s legal to possess a kirpan for religious reasons in the UK. This exemption is protected under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and the Offensive Weapons Act 2019, which allow possession for religious or ceremonial reasons.
Digwa was convicted by a jury last week after it was heard he stabbed the teenager to death with a kirpan knife with an eight-inch (21cm) blade in Southampton. The 23-year-old told police he was the victim of a racist attack after he stabbed the student on December 3 last year.
He also failed to tell police he had stabbed Mr Nowak, leading to officers arresting and handcuffing the victim. Mr Nowak then fell unconscious before passing away at the scene.
Henry Nowak was stabbed to death last December (Image: Hampshire Police)
Digwa’s mother, who arrived at the scene alongside his father, held his kirpan while he picked up his religious items which had fallen to the ground. She then took the kirpan back to the family home where it was later found.
Robert France, Temporary Deputy Chief Constable at Hampshire Police, described the killing as an “unspeakable tragedy”. He added: “I am deeply sorry that Henry could not be saved. I am deeply sorry that in the moments he lost consciousness, he had been handcuffed and arrested.”
He continued: “Henry Nowak was an 18-year-old who had his whole future in front of him. That future has been cut short through a senseless attack.”
