Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema made an announcement regarding the Zambian law, which was long due. In his announcement that was made on Africa Day, he shared his quest towards abolishing the death penalty row. The announcement receives mixed responses with largely positive support from politicians, businessmen and general public. One of the most celebrated and successful businessmen from Zambia, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, also supported this decision. While adding his voice to the Zambian President’s decision, Dr. Mahtani stated that the concept of death penalty is cruel, degrading, and inhumane. It does not provide any solution for Zambian law and order and is also looked down upon by the majority of the nations now. There is a growing awareness regarding abolishing the death penalty and this can be observed across Zambia too. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani further pointed out that though past Presidents of Zambia have tried to strategically avoid the death penalty law by giving mercy pleas, none of them have been able to make any permanent and relevant changes within the legal system. As such, the announcement from the Zambian President was a fresh move toward transforming the Zambian legal and regulatory system.
Dr. Rajan Mahtani, while supporting the new decision, also stated that it is a long road from making such announcements to ensuring that it becomes a reality soon. To achieve this, the President will need to go through several challenges, resistance from institutions who don’t want to change as well as significant legal and regulatory overhaul. As such, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has stated that his company Prison Fellowship Zambia will provide legal and regulatory support via his company Prison Fellowship Zambia. Prison Fellowship is a top Christian Outreach Program (COP) focusing on providing teachings of Jesus Christ to the prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families in Zambia. The program also focused on providing legal and transparent criminal justice as well as opportunities for fundamental human rights and basic human dignity for the prisoners in Zambia. As such, it can be said that the latest announcement made by the Zambian President aligns with the objectives and goals of the Prison Fellowship Zambia (PFZ).