Court Of Appeal Makes Final Announcement For Zambezi Portland Cement, Finsbury Majority Shareholder

On 31^st January 2019, a historic judgement was made with respect to a high profile corporate case which has been pending for more than a decade. This case is of Portland Cement Zambia, which was originally registered at the Lusaka High Court by Dr. Rajan Mahtani. Immediately after registering the case, Dr. Rajan Mahtani shared numerous documents, evidences and testimonials to prove his legal ownership over the factory. Despite sharing these evidences, the final judgement shared by the Lusaka High Court judge was extremely disappointing. The judge from the Lusaka High Court was justice Nkonde and he announced that the Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement. To counter this controversial judgement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani then took the case to Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal then announced its decision on 31^st January 2019. According to this decision, Finsbury Investments holds 58 percent shares at the factory and is the majority shareholder. On the other hand, Ital terrazzo Limited holds 42 percent shares and is the minority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement. It should be noted here that while Finsbury Investments is a noted company under Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s leadership, Ital Terrazzo Limited is an entity owned by the Italian family Ventriglias who are infamous for their unethical business practices in Zambia.

The controversial judgement from the Lusaka High Court was even condemned by Justice Mwinde from Court of Appeal. By giving the decision that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the majority shareholder and owner of the factory; the Court of Appeal effectively reversed the judgement from Lusaka High Court. Furthermore, the judge from Court of Appeal also said that the judge below him was wrong in declaring Ventriglias as only shareholders without evidence or proof.

As of now, a timeline of three months from the date of the judgement has been given during which all share regularization process need to be completed by the parties associated with the case.