The Steven Malama award is one of the premier educational awards in Zambia. The award was established in the year 2012 by Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, a noted figure in Zambia with successful business ventures and significant philanthropic contributions under his name. Late Steven Malama was a visionary in the field of law and is known to change the shape of legal education in Zambia. He is credited for the merger of Barrister’s Bar and Solicitor’s Bar into a single bar which has been extremely critical for law students, law enthusiasts and legal professionals to get affiliation without bureaucratic hurdles. Late Steven Malama was a close friend of Dr. Rajan Mahtani who decided that the best way to continue the works and achievements of the visionary leader is by instituting an award in his name. The award was established by collaborating with Finance Bank Zambia and is given by the Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education.

Since the inaugural award in 2013, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been presenting the award to deserving students by himself. The latest winner of the Steven Malama award for the year 2018-19 was Emmanuel Bwalya Kaluba. He won the award after graduating from the Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education with top honours and also passed the bar in his first attempt. Emmanuel Bwalya Kaluba was all praise for Dr. Rajan Mahtani in his article post the award ceremony which was fortunately published in the ‘Readers Forum’ of Daily Mail Newspaper. In this article, Emmanuel praised Dr. Rajan Mahtani for his humble attitude and demeaner and how he shared a handwritten congratulatory note to the winning student for his hard work and dedication. In this article, Emmanuel also thanked Dr. Rajan Mahtani for his significant contributions as well as for the motivation provided to the students of ZIALE in becoming better leaders for tomorrow.