Truth Is Finally Out, Dr. Rajan Mahtani Announced Majority Shareholder For Zambezi Portland Cement

After more than a decade of fighting for justice and several misdirected judgments from high court, final judgment on the Portland Cement Zambia is out. The factory has become infamous for the legal fight over it by two major parties from Zambia. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, who is a noted businessman, philanthropist and charity worker in Zambia, has been fighting for the legal takeover of the factory for more than a decade. He has registered a complaint at the Lusaka High Court and despite sharing numerous evidences, testimonials and other factual evidences; the final decision of the court was against Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s claims. After this misdirected judgment, Dr. Rajan Mahtani then appealed to the higher ‘Court of Appeal’ and awaited justice patiently.

Finally, on 31^st January 2019, the Court of Appeal gave justice to Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s honest patience. The judgment of High Court was reversed, which was given in May 2018 and which considered that Ventriglias were only shareholders for the Zambezi Portland Cement factory. The new judgment was given by Justice Mwinde Siavwapa from the ‘Court of Appeal’. This judgment and the proceedings went on for almost 90 minutes during the morning of 31^st January 2019. According to the judgment by Justice Siavwapa, the High Court judge had given a misdirected judgment in front of the law when it was held that Ventriglias were only shareholders of Zambezi Portland Cement.

From this judgment from the Court of Appeal, it is established that the majority shareholder of Zambezi Portland Cement is Finsbury Investments limited owned by Dr. Rajan Mahtani. The Finsbury Investments owns 58 percent share and the Ventriglias own 42 percent share and are considered as minority shareholders. This judgment is completely aligned with main Shareholder’s agreement established by the same parties in the year 2007.

The final judgment from the Higher Court of Appeal has certainly revealed the large scale corruption and unethical practices in Zambia and shares the importance of establishing a transparent and ethical justice system.