The final decision by the Court of Appeal on the Zambezi Portland Cement was a real eye opener towards the legal system of Zambia. The case of Portland Cement Zambia is known to all. It is a cement manufacturing factory which was claimed by Dr. Rajan Mahtani on one hand and the Ventriglias on the other. The cement manufacturing factory case was registered at the Lusaka High Court by Dr. Rajan Mahtani himself, after he claimed that the factory was illegally taken over from him. Despite sharing numerous evidences and testimonials, the case was dragged for more than ten years at the high court and the final decision from the court was controversial. According to judge Nkonde from Lusaka High Court, Ventriglias were the only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement.
It was clear that the judgement was misdirected and thus, Dr. Rajan Mahtani then approached the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal announced its judgement on 31st January 2019, around nine months after the case was re-appealed there. The judge at the Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde. According to the final decision of the Court of Appeal, 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 is the minority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement with only 42 percent shares and no legal ownership. Based on this shareholding pattern, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is clearly the legal owner of the factory. According to the Court of Appeal judge, this judgement also aligned with the original shareholders agreement which was established in 2007.
Furthermore, the judge from the Court of Appeal also said that the judge below him was wrong in declaring Ventriglias as only shareholders as this decision was misdirected and without any evidence or support.