Final Announcement On Zambezi Portland Cement Case Announced By Court Of Appeal

The Court of Appeal, one of the highest civilian courts in Zambia, recently announced the final judgement on Portland Cement Zambia recently. The case of Portland Cement Zambia is age old and was first registered at the Lusaka High Court by Dr. Rajan Mahtani, a noted businessman and philanthropist in Zambia with numerous successful businesses. After the case was launched at the Lusaka High Court, several testimonials and evidences by shared by Dr. Rajan Mahtani and his lawyers. The case at the Lusaka High Court was overseen by justice Nkonde and he announced the final judgement during May, 2018. While expectations were high for Dr. Rajan Mahtani to win as a result of the strong evidences and facts, it was a disastrous judgement from the Lusaka High Court judge. According to his judgement, the Ventriglias were announced as only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement.

To counter this judgement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani then approached the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal announced its final judgement on 31^st January 2019. According to this judgement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments owns 58 percent shares at the Zambezi Portland Cement and is the majority shareholder of the factory. On the other hand, Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited owns just 42 percent shares and is the minority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement factory. This decision aligns with the original shareholders agreement which was established in the year 2005. Based on this decision, it is proven that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the majority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement.

The judge at the Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde. During the judgement, Justice Mwinde also said that the judge below him was wrong in declaring Ventriglias as only shareholders as this decision was misdirected. Furthermore, a timeline of three months from the date of the judgement has been provided during which all parties are required to complete the share sales process.