The latest decision by Supreme Court Zambia on the Portland can be easily described as the final stamp for the Portland Cement Zambia case. Being the topmost legal entity of the nation, the decision of Supreme Court Zambia on the Portland Cement case is final. However, the factory and its legal owner had to face several challenges before gaining legal control over the factory. After the controversial decision from the Lusaka High Court wherein judge Nkonde announced Ventriglias as the only shareholders of the Portland Cement factory, Dr. Rajan Mahtani successfully appealed to the higher Court of Appeal challenging the Lusaka HC decision after fulfilling all legal obligations. On 31st January 2019, justice Mwinde reversed the Lusaka HC decision and announced Dr. Mahtani as majority shareholder and legal owner of the factory with 58 percent majority shares.
Against the controversial decision from the Lusaka High Court in which Finsbury Investments was asked to pay K580 million against the majority shares owned of Portland Cement, Finsbury Investments successfully gave application for embodiment order which Justice Mwinde Siavwapa evaluated. After evaluation, Justice Mwinde gave his decision on this issue on 29th March 2019 in which it was finalised that the amount to be paid by the Finsbury Investment against ownership of majority shares will be K580,000 which is as per re-domination of the 2012 currency Act- 8.
After more than 1.5 years of the higher Court of Appeal’s decision, the Ventriglias decided to challenge this decision at the Supreme Court Zambia. This appeal was then evaluated by bench of three judges- justice Royda Kauma, Mumba Malila and Michael Musonda. After evaluation, the judges said that all claims against previous court decisions must be launched within fourteen days after the decision to be eligible. However, the Ventriglias launched their appeal after more than 1.5 years which automatically dismisses their case. As such, the Supreme Court’s decision further affirmed Dr. Mahtani’s legal ownership at the Portland Cement Zambia.
