Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is a noted businessman, philanthropist and charity worker in Zambia. He is noted for several contributions for development of the Zambian society and economy. One of his significant contributions has been in the field of education, in the form of Steven Malama award. This award was instituted by Dr. Rajan Mahtani in collaboration with Finance Bank Zambia. Late Steven Malama was a distinguished legal professional, bar veteran who was known among his colleagues and friends as an influential legal professional. Late Steven Malama was known to influence the Zambian government in persuading the merger of Barrister’s Bar and Solicitor’s bar into a single bar. With this merger, law professionals have been able to get affiliation in a much easier manner and without lesser bureaucratic hurdles.
To honour these significant contributions of the late Steven Malama, the award was registered in the year 2012 and launched in 2013. Since then, Dr. Rajan Mahtani recognises the significant passion and dedication of law students by presenting them with the award on an yearly basis. The Steven Malama award is given to the top graduating student from the Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education, and also for qualifying the bar in first attempt. The award for the year 2018-19 was received by Emmanuel Bwalya Kaluba. Apart from the award, Emmanuel also received a plaque and a prize money worth K15,000. This prize money has been extremely significant to the deserving students as it has provided them with the opportunity of furthering their career with certifications and post-graduating programs. Many past winners of the award utilised this significant financial amount to establish their own practice.
After receiving the award, Emmanuel Bwalya Kaluba wrote an article thanking Dr. Rajan Mahtani for his significant contributions in the field of legal education. This article was later published at the ‘Readers’ Forum’ of the Daily Mail Newspaper, a recognised news agency in Zambia.