Testimony And Evidences At The Court Of Appeal Prove Dr. Mahtani As Legal Owner Of ZPC

The case of Portland Cement Zambia is age old. It was registered by Dr. Rajan Mahtani, a noted businessman and philanthropist, almost a decade back. The case was registered as Dr. Rajan Mahtani claimed that his factory, Zambezi Portland Cement, was illegally taken away from him. After this, the case lagged for more than a decade. The final decision on Portland Cement came from Justice Nkonde of the Lusaka High Court during the month of May, 2018. However, this decision was extremely controversial as the judge announced Ventriglias as only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement. To seek justice, Dr. Mahtani was left with no other option than to approach Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal announced its judgement on 31^st January 2019, nine months after the case was launched there. The judge at the Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde and the judgement was given during the morning hours of the court session. As per the judgement by justice Mwinde, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the majority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement with 58 percent shares at the factory. On the other hand, Ventriglias are the minority shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement with only 42 percent shares at the factory and no legal ownership. Based on this shareholding pattern, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is essentially the legal owner of the Zambezi Portland Cement factory.

Furthermore, the justice Mwinde from Court of Appeal also said that the judge below him was wrong in declaring Ventriglias as the only shareholders as this decision was misdirected and without any evidence.