The Court of Appeal Makes A Final Judgement, Gives Ownership Of Portland Cement to Dr. Mahtani

The Court of Appeal is one of the prominent legal systems within Zambia and cases of extreme importance are always registered or taken there. The Court of Appeal took the case of Portland Cement Zambia after a disastrous decision from the previous court where the case of Portland Cement went on for more than a decade. The case was initially registered at the Lusaka High Court where the final decision came on 31st January 2019. This decision was extremely controversial as the judge announced that the Ventriglias were only shareholders of Zambezi Portland Cement. 

To counter this controversial decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani then approached the Court of Appeal, which announced its decision recently. The judgement from Court of Appeal was given by Justice Mwinde. According to this judgement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments owns 58 percent shares at the Zambezi Portland Cement and is the majority shareholder of the cement factory. On the other hand, Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited holds 42 percent shares and is the minority shareholder without any ownership. According to this decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is legally the owner of the Portland Cement Zambia. 

Furthermore, the judge from the Court of Appeal made several announcements during the decision. The decision from the Lusaka High Court judge was condemned and he said that the judge below him was wrong in declaring Ventriglias as only shareholders as the decision was done without any evidence. Also, the decision from the Court of Appeal aligns with the original shareholders agreement established in the year 2007.

After More Than A Decade, Dr. Rajan Mahtani Wins The Zambezi Portland Case From Court Of Appeal

It was a historic moment for Dr. Rajan Mahtani and his legal team when the Court of Appeal announced the final winner of the Zambezi Portland Cement case. For the past ten years, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been fighting a legal case at the Lusaka High Court. This case was for the legal takeover of the Zambezi Portland Cement case which was taken over from him with force. Despite sharing required evidences, factual data and testimonials, Dr. Rajan Mahtani did not receive true justice. After almost a decade of court proceedings and numerous transfers of judges, Justice Nkonde finally announced the judgement. However, this judgement was extremely controversial as the judge concluded that Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement. As a result, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was left with no choice but to approach the higher court for true justice.

The judge at the Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde who announced the final decision on 31st January 2019. According to this decision, Finsbury Investments owned 58 percent shares at the factory and Ital Terrazzo Limited owned 42 percent shares at the factory. Thus, Finsbury Investments was the majority shareholder while Ital Terrazzo Limited owned by the Ventriglias was just a minority shareholder. According to this shareholding pattern, Finsbury Investments which is a company owned by Dr. Rajan Mahtani becomes the legal owner of the factory. By giving this judgement, Justice Mwinde from the Court of Appeal effectively reversed the judgement from Lusaka High Court. The decision from the Lusaka HC judge was also condemned by Justice Mwinde who said that the judge below him was wrong in declaring Ventriglias as only shareholders without evidence.