Death Penalty Holds No Value, Should Be Abolished

President of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema, recently announced his intentions to abolish the death penalty law. Since his announcement, he has been poured with numerous supports including Dr. Rajan Mahtani, a noted businessman, philanthropist and charity worker in Zambia. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is known for his several contributions including prison fellowship Zambia. Prison Fellowship was established more than three decades ago with the objective of bringing teachings of Jesus Christ to the prisoners, ex-prisoners as well as their families in Zambia. The Christian Outreach Program also works towards ensuring transparent criminal justice as well as ensuring that the prisoners are not devoid of basic human dignity and fundamental human rights. Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the founder and current chairman of the institution and has pledged his full legal and regulatory support towards this decision from the Zambian President.

While supporting the announcement made by the Zambian President, Dr. Rajan Mahtani stated that there are more than 380 inmates in Zambia facing death penalty and among them around 25-30 are women. For them, every day is a death penalty as they know that everyday can be their day of execution. At the same time, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has also observed that with the right motivation and preaching, several inmates and ex-inmates have completely transformed their lives and have dedicated towards the services of the God. As such, the practice of death penalty holds no value in this regard. The last time a death penalty was given was in the year 1997 under President Chilruba and the person was executed. However, there is a growing consensus towards abolishing death penalty across the globe and this trend can be seen across Zambia too. Presidents have been tactically avoiding death penalty off late by using mercy pleas. In a similar manner, the Zambian Government has collaborated with Correctional Facilities and Parole Board Zambia for strategic decongestion of prisons across Zambia. As such, the announcement from President Hichilema is a step in the right direction.