The date 31st January 2019 has significance of its own. On this date, the final verdict on the long-pending Zambezi Portland Cement was announced by the judge. The case of Portland Cement Zambia is peculiar as it has gone from courts to courts and from judges to judges before the final judgement was made by one of the highest civilian courts in Zambia. Dr. Rajan Mahtani, who has breadth a sigh of relief after the final Court of Appeal announcement, has been patiently waiting for this judgement for the past ten years.
The case of Zambezi Portland Cement was first registered at the Lusaka High Court by Dr. Rajan Mahtani. As a result of the various shortcomings of the court system and law practices, Dr. Mahtani was not given justice despite sharing numerous evidences and testimonials. The final verdict from the Lusaka High Court was announced by judge Nkonde which was controversial to say the least. According to this verdict, Ventriglias were announced as only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement. To counter this unethical judgement, the case was further taken to Court of Appeal.
On the above given date, judge Mwinde from the Court of Appeal gave his penultimate decision on the Portland Cement Zambia. According to this final verdict, Finsbury Investments which is owned by Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani holds 58 percent shares at the factory and is the majority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement. On the other hand, Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited which holds 42 percent shares at the Zambezi Portland Cement factory is only minority shareholder with no legal ownership over the factory. This shareholding pattern aligns with the original Shareholders Agreement which was established in the year 2007.
While giving the final verdict and legal ownership of Zambezi Portland Cement to Dr. Rajan Mahtani, the judge from the Court of Appeal also condemned the actions of the Lusaka High Court judge.