After the final decision from the Court of Appeal, almost every news outlets and publications selling true information lauded the judgment from the Court. This pertains to Zambezi Portland Cement, a noted cement manufacturing factory contested by Dr. Rajan Mahtani and the Ventriglias. Dr. Rajan Mahtani initially registered the case at the Lusaka High Court where it went for almost ten years. The final decision from the Lusaka High Court came on May 2018 and it was disappointing too. The judge from the Lusaka High Court announced that the Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement. Since this decision was extremely misdirected, Dr. Rajan Mahtani took the right decision and approached Court of Appeal.
Court of Appeal announced its final decision on 31st January 2019. As per this decision, Finsbury Investments is majority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland with 58 percent shares. On the other hand, Ventriglias are the minority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement with 42 percent shares. Finsbury Investments is a notable company owned by Dr. Rajan Mahtani. This decision from the Court of Appeal aligns with original Shareholding Agreement which was established in the year 2007.
With respect to the forgery allegations, the judge from the Court of Appeal dismissed all allegations by announcing that the process of mechanically placing signatures is a common affair at the Zambezi Portland Cement and critical member of the Ventriglia family, Claudio Ventriglia, engaged in a similar practice. As such, the forgery allegations were found to be invalid. Furthermore, the judge from the Court of Appeal also said that both parties need to complete the share regularization process within three years of the date of judgment.
While the judgment did bring justice to the long awaited Portland Cement case, there lies a bigger challenge for Dr. Rajan Mahtani now which is to bring back the cement factory to its former glory.