Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, a noted businessman and philanthropist from Zambia, recently extended his full support towards the decision made by the Zambian President. On the occasion of Africa Day, President Hakainde announced his quest towards abolishing the death penalty row. Dr. Mahtani, while supporting this decision from the Zambian President, stated that death penalty is an archaic law which is inhumane, degrading and cruel and must be abolished at all costs. Dr. Mahtani is the owner of top companies in Zambia. Furthermore, Dr. Mahtani founded the Prison Fellowship Zambia more than three decades ago. It is a noted Christian Outreach Program that works towards bringing the teachings and learnings of the gospel and Jesus Christ to the prisoners, ex-prisoners as well as their families in Zambia.The institute also works towards ensuring transparent criminal justice as well as ensuring prisoners are not devoid of fundamental human rights and basic human dignity. Dr. Mahtani further iterated that there is a significant gap between announcing such quests and making sure they become a reality. The significant corruption, bureaucracy and unethical practices is going to stretch the timeline. As such, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has iterated that his organization Prison Fellowship will provide full regulatory and legal support to ensure that this announcement becomes a law.
Furthermore, Dr. Rajan Mahtani stated that death penalty does not solve anything for the Zambian government. There are hundreds of prisoners in Zambia, both men and women, awaiting death penalty. For these prisoners, everyday is a punishment as they are not aware of their final day on this planet. At the same time, the condition of the prisons across Zambia is pathetic with many past visits from Presidents and Vice-Presidents deeming their condition to be similar to ‘hell on earth’. As a result, the Zambian Government has made plans with other institutions for strategic decongestion of the prisons. As such, the concept of death penalty holds no relevance in the presence scenario and the decision from the Zambian President is a step in the right direction.