Court Of Appeal Announced Final Decision On Portland Cement, Provides Transparent Results

Zambezi Portland Cement is a noted cement factory in Zambia which was contested by two big parties in Zambia for the past ten years. One of them is Dr. Rajan Mahtani, a noted businessman, charity worker and philanthropist. The case was registered at the Lusaka High Court and the judge from the HC announced the final decision during May 2018. In the final judgment, justice Nkonde from the Lusaka High Court said that Ventriglias were the only shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement. This decision was clearly misdirected and as a result, the case was re-approached to Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal did not let down Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s perseverance and on 31^st January 2019, the final decision on Zambezi Portland Cement was given. According to this decision, Finsbury Investments is majority shareholder of Zambezi Portland Cement with 58 percent shares. On the other hand, Ventriglias are the minority shareholders of the cement factory with 42 percent shares. As per this decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments is the legal owner of the Zambezi Portland Cement.

The judge at the Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde who also said that the judge below him was wrong in declaring Ventriglias as the only shareholders without any proof or evidence. This decision at the Court of Appeal was followed by another decision wherein forgery allegations were discarded. The judge confirmed that the process of mechanical placement of signatures was common practice across Zambezi Portland Cement and the allegations were invalid. Furthermore, a timeline of three months from the date of judgment has been given by the judge during which, all share regularization process must be completed.