After the final judgement by the Court of Appeal on Zambezi Portland Cement, the citizens of Zambia came to know about the actual truth regarding the case. For a long time, the case of Portland Cement Zambia was contested by two major business parties in Zambia. One of them is Dr. Rajan Mahtani, a noted businessman and philanthropist in Zambia with numerous successful businesses within and outside the nation. Both business moguls have been contesting the cement factory at the Lusaka High Court and after ten years of case proceedings, final judgement was given by the judge. However, this judgment was controversial as it was against Dr. Mahtani’s claims. The judge, Justice Nkonde, gave the final decision that the Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement.
Dr. Rajan Mahtani did not give up and took the case further to Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal announced its final decision on 31st January 2019. As per this final decision, Finsbury Investments which is owned by Dr. Rajan Mahtani is majority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement factory with 58 percent shares. On the other hand, Ital Terrazzo Limited which is owned by the Ventriglia family is just minority shareholder holding 42 percent shares at the factory. As such, the legal ownership of the factory goes directly to Dr. Rajan Mahtani. This decision from Court of Appeal effectively reversed the decision from the Lusaka High Court.
The judgment as well as the case proceedings at the Lusaka High Court was controversial as no details were shared with the public or media and all case results were declared without considering the numerous evidences, facts or testimonials from Dr. Mahtani’s end. However, the Court of Appeal shared numerous details related to the case while giving the final judgement. Also, the court gave a timeline of three months from the judgement date for both parties during which the regularization process of the shares must be completed.