President Hakainde Hichilema is the current President of the Zambian Nation. On the occasion of Africa Day, President Hichilema made an announcement that he plans to abolish the death penalty. This announcement is certainly a significant one as it can be the start of the transformation of the Zambian legal and regulatory system. According to the President, the concept and practice of the death penalty is archaic and do not hold any significance or value in the present economy. Noted businessperson, philanthropist, and charity worker from Zambia, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, has extended his full support towards this announcement.
Dr. Rajan Mahtani, in his interview excerpt at the ‘Mast Newspaper’ released recently, iterated that the death penalty is a degrading, inhumane and cruel practice and should be made against the law. There is already a rising awareness across the globe towards eradicating the death penalty, and this trend can be observed across Zambia too. As a result of this widespread awareness, past Presidents have avoided giving capital punishment for a long time now as the last time death punishment was given was in the year 1997 and since then, mercy pleas are being strategically used for avoiding death penalty. Yet, none of these Presidents except the current President Hakainde Hichilema, have worked towards eradicating this archaic and degrading law from its roots. As such, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has wholeheartedly praised the announcement made by the President.
Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is the owner of several top companies in Zambia and Africa, such as Mahtani Group of Companies and Finsbury Investments. He is also the founder of several philanthropic achievements such as Prison Fellowship Zambia. It was founded by Dr. Mahtani more than three decades ago and Dr. Mahtani is the Chairman of the philanthropic institution. Prison Fellowship works towards providing better opportunities for the prisoners and ex-prisoners of Zambia and as such, it has pledged its full support to the new announcement made by the Zambian President.