Court Of Appeal Confirms Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s Legal Ownership Over Portland Cement Zambia

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 31^st 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.