According to the latest details by the Court of Appeal, the final results for the long-pending Portland Cement Zambia case have been announced. This case can easily be considered as one of the longest pending corporate cases in Zambia. The case was first registered by Dr. Rajan Mahtani, a noted businessman and philanthropist in Zambia. The case was registered at the Lusaka High Court after Dr. Rajan Mahtani claimed that the cement factory was illegally taken from him. After the case was launched, several evidences and testimonials were presented before the court. The judge at the Lusaka High Court also made some positive announcements few months before the final decision, when it was announced that final decision will be given based on the evidences and testimonials provided by both sides. However, the final judgment from Lusaka High Court turned out to be controversial as it was announced that Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement.
To counter this decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani the approached the Court of Appeal. The Court of appeal is one of the highest civilian courts in Zambia and the judge at the Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde. The final decision from Court of Appeal came on 31st January 2019, and was given during the morning session. According to this final decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments is majority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement with 58 percent shares at the factory. On the other hand, Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited is minority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement with just 42 percent shares at the factory. This decision from the Court of Appeal aligns with the original shareholders agreement which was established in the year 2007. As per this final decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is legal owner of the Zambezi Portland Cement factory.
The Court of Appeal has given a timeline of three months from the date of the judgment during which all share sales processes must be completed.