The year 2022 is nearing its conclusion. The Covid-19 pandemic undoubtedly caused a great deal of destruction during the last two years. However, there have been slow advances in global social and financial institutions, signaling that the globe has begun to heal. On the occasion of Africa Day, the president of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema, made another encouraging statement. He declared his intention to entirely repeal the death penalty law. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, a well-known businessman and philanthropist from Zambia, endorsed this viewpoint and emphasized the need to abolish the death penalty as a cruel, brutal, and demeaning law. It is now illegal to execute people in the vast majority of countries, thus Zambia should follow suit.
While previous Presidents avoided the death sentence, which was last applied in 1997, none of them actually fought to ensure that this antiquated statute was repealed. The state of Zambia's prisons is another reason why the government should allow the death sentence to be abolished. Some of Zambia's maximum jails are in deplorable conditions, where inmates frequently lack basic human rights and basic human dignity. While an immediate change in this circumstance is not possible, the Zambian government has just launched a program to strategically decongest its prisons. Establishments like the Zambian Correctional Facility and the Parole Board of Zambia (PBZ) support this program (ZCF). Giving inmates the death sentence in this situation no longer offers a significant improvement in Zambia's law and order. As a result, the Zambian President's choice is a move in the right direction. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani further stated that his company's Prison fellowship will provide legal and regulatory support in this direction.