Zambian President, on the occasion of Africa Day, made a remarkable and ground-breaking announcement. On this occasion, President Hakainde Hichilema announced that he plans to completely abolish the death penalty row. President Hakainde has termed death penalty as an archaic, degrading, cruel and inhumane law that holds no significance in this present society. This announcement from the Zambian President has received widespread support, including the likes of Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, a noted businessman and philanthropist from Zambia. Dr. Rajan Mahtani supported the announcement made by the Zambian President by stating that the concept of death penalty does not provide any solution to the Zambian Government. In fact, the condition of the Zambian prisons and maximum facilities has degraded significantly with many touting their conditions as hell on earth. Reports claim that prisoners in these facilities are often devoid of even basic human dignity and fundamental human rights. As such, the Zambian government has taken several initiatives towards strategic decongestion of their prisons and releasing prisoners after they have completely transformed to become law-abiding citizens of the society.
Dr. Rajan Mahtani has further stated that his organization Prison Fellowship Zambia, works towards similar objectives including bringing the teachings and learnings of Jesus Christ to the inmates, ex-inmates and their families in Zambia; ensuring fundamental human rights & basic human dignity for the prisoners, and ensuring tranche parent criminal justice. Dr. Rajan Mahtani has further supported this movement from the Zambian President by stating that majority of the Presidents in the past have avoided death penalty by using mercy prerogatives. The last death penalty was given in the year 1997 by President Frederick Chilruba and since then, capital punishments have been avoided tactically. However, none of these Presidents actually worked toward creating a reform that would abolish this cruel and inhumane law from its core. As such, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani has applauded the announcement made by the Zambian President and has also extended legal and regulatory support via his company Prison Fellowship.