Zambian
citizens were finally exposed to the truth about Portland Cement
Zambia case. It can be easily regarded as one of the longest running
corporate cases in Zambia. The case was originally registered at the
Lusaka High Court by Dr. Rajan Mahtani after he claimed that the
factory was illegally taken over from him. After several court
proceedings and a long wait of more than a decade, the judge at the
Lusaka High Court gave a final judgment. According to justice Nkonde
from the Lusaka High Court, Ventriglias were declared as only
shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement. It was clear that this
decision was misdirected and biased and as a result, compelled Dr.
Rajan Mahtani to take another step.
This
time, Dr. Rajan Mahtani approached the Court of Appeal which is one
of the highest civilian and legal judiciary systems in Zambia. The
judge at the Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde who gave the final
judgment on 31st
January 2019. According to this judgment, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned
Finsbury Investments is majority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement with 58 percent shares. On the other hand, Ventriglias owned
Ital Terrazzo Limited holds just 42 percent shares at the factory and
is the minority shareholder without any legal ownership over the
factory. Based on this decision, it is clear that Dr. Rajan Mahtani
is the legal and actual owner of the factory.
While
giving this judgment, judge Mwinde from Court of Appeal also said
that the judge below him was wrong in declaring Ventriglias as only
shareholders as this decision was without any evidences and against
the interests of the public policies.