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.