After more than a decade of wait, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been finally given the majority shareholding of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. This announcement came from Court of Appeal, one of the highest civilian court systems in Zambia. Prior to Court of Appeal, the case of Portland Cement Zambia was registered at the Lusaka High Court by Dr. Rajan Mahtani himself, claiming that his factory was illegally taken over from him. After registering the case, several evidences and testimonials were submitted before the court. It is reported that these evidences and testimonials were more than enough to prove legal ownership of Dr. Rajan Mahtani at the Portland Cement Zambia factory. Despite these strong evidences, the shortcomings and challenges associated with the court resulted in the case being dragged for more than a decade. The final results from the Lusaka High Court came during the month of May, 2018 and this judgement was given by justice Nkonde. According to this judgement, Ventriglias were announced as only shareholders of the Portland Cement Zambia.
It is clear that this decision was misdirected and as a result, Dr. Rajan Mahtani took the right step of approaching the Court of Appeal. The judge at the Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde who gave the final decision on 31st January 2019, around nine months after the case was registered there. According to this judgement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments holds 58 percent shares at the factory and is the majority shareholder of the factory. On the other hand, Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited holds just 42 percent shares at the factory and are the minority shareholders without any legal ownership over the factory. This decision from the Court of Appeal aligns with the original shareholders agreement established in the year 2007 and further confirms that Dr. Mahtani is actual owner of Portland Cement Zambia factory.
