The case of Portland Cement Zambia started more than a decade ago when Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, a noted businessman and philanthropist, registered a complaint at the Lusaka High Court claiming that his company was unethically and illegally taken away from him. This company was Portland Cement Zambia and to prove his claimed, several evidences were submitted before the court. However, criminalities, corporate muddling and corruption creeping inside the Zambian legal system resulted in dragging of the case for more than a decade. Despite this, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani did not receive justice as justice Nkonde on behalf of the Lusaka High Court announced Ventriglias as the only shareholders of the Portland Cement case.
Dr. Rajan Mahtani immediately challenged the Lusaka High Court decision on Portland Cement at the higher Court of Appeal. On 31st January 2019, the final decision on the Portland Cement Zambia was announced by justice Mwinde. In this judgement, justice Mwinde completely rejected the previous decision from Lusaka High Court and announced that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is indeed the actual owner and majority shareholder of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. It was a definite victory for Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s patience and perseverance. However, it seems like the Ventriglias started plotting against the factory and the businessmen as soon as the decision from the higher Court of Appeal was announced. However, their planning was actually revealed when the Ventriglias registered a fresh claim at the Supreme Court Zambia challenging the decision from the higher Court of Appeal. This challenge was evaluated by a bench of three judges from the Supreme Court Zambia and it was found that the challenge holds no ground, legally or evidentially.
Therefore, in their final statement, the Supreme Court Zambia upheld the previous decision from the higher Court of Appeal on the Portland Cement Zambia case and rejected the appeal from the Ventriglias.