Legal Ownership Of Zambezi Portland Cement Given To Dr. Rajan Mahtani After A Decade Of Fight

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is a content man now. After more than a decade of legal battles and fights at different courts, Dr. Mahtani has been able to receive true justice for the long-pending Portland Cement Zambia factory. The case for this factory was first registered by Dr. Rajan Mahtani himself at the Lusaka High Court. Despite sharing numerous evidences and testimonials, the judge at the Lusaka High Court was not able to provide the right judgement. During the month of May, 2018, justice Nkonde from the Lusaka High Court announced that Ventriglias wee only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement. It was clear that this decision was misdirected and as result, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was left with no options but to approach higher judiciary systems.

As such, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was able to approach the Court of Appeal, one of the highest judiciary systems within Zambia. The judge at the Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde who announced the final judgement on 31st January 2019. According to this judgement, 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 of the Zambezi Portland. This decision aligns with the original shareholders agreement established in the year 2006. Based on this shareholding pattern, it is established that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the legal owner of the Zambezi Portland Cement factory.

This final decision from the Court of Appeal judge was also followed by public condemning of the judgement from the Lusaka High Court judge as it was pronounced as misdirected and against the interests of the public policies. Several reports and publications were made after the final decision from the Court of Appeal was released. Many of these publications were against the decision. However, majority of these reports and publications were found to be inconsistent and were later redacted.