Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s Faith In The Zambian Legal System Restored With Court Of Appeal Win

The ownership of Portland Cement Zambia is finally established at the higher Court of Appeal. This decision comes more than a decade after the original case was reported. An interesting fact is that the case was originally reported at the Lusaka High Court. The high court took more than a decade to make its final announcement on the case. After long proceedings continuing for more than ten years, final decision came during mid-2018. Justice Nkonde on behalf of the Lusaka High Court gave the ultimate decision on the case. However, this decision was misdirected as justice Nkonde confirmed Ventriglias as only shareholders as opposed to evidentiary support.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani was then prompted to approach the higher Court of Appeal. Justice Mwinde took over the case on behalf of the Court of Appeal and the final decision from higher Court of Appeal was announced on 31st January 2019. Unlike the long pendency of the Lusaka High Court, the higher Court of Appeal gave its final decision in a matter of few months. Several evidences were evaluated after which the final decision was announced. The first evidence confirmed that Dr. Mahtani paid one billion kwachas to the Zambezi Portland Cement limited. This amount covered the entire value of share capital which Dr. Mahtani took over. The second major evidence was the original agreement between shareholders established in 2007. This shareholder’s agreement confirmed that Dr. Mahtani has made all payment associated with the factory and took over 58 percent shares at the factory. Based on all these evidences, it is now established that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the actual owner of the factory.