Portland Cement Zambia is a cement manufacturing company with many accolades under its name. During its glory days, it was one of the biggest cement producers in Zambia and was also known for paying above-industry average salaries and wages to its employees and labourers. However, things changed when the factory was illegally taken over from its real owner, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani. Thus started one of the biggest court battled for Dr. Mahtani against the Ventriglias, who claimed that the factory belonged to them and Dr. Mahtani did not pay for the shares he owned at the factory.
The case is more than ten years old. Sometime back, the current judge residing the case announced closure of case hearing and both parties were asked to share their evidences in written and oral format. After evaluating these evidences, the judgement was supposed to be given. As per experts’ suggestion and the evidences provided, Dr. Mahtani was a clear winner. However, things took a turn around when the judge gave the judgement in favour of the Ventriglias. This was a huge blow for Dr. Mahtani as almost all of the evidences were strong and supported his case. At the same time, the Ventriglias were unable to provide any evidences to support their argument. For instance, Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s lawyers produced strong evidences such as shareholder’s agreement, testimonials from individuals significant in the case, numerous financial exhibits as well as independent audit report conducted by an independent auditor. All these evidences were in favour of Dr. Mahtani.
The lawyers as well as general public are shocked with the unnatural judgment made by the judge. However, Dr. Mahtani quickly recovered from this blow and filed a motion to appeal this judgment made by the Lusaka High Court judge. With all the evidences and string case, it is expected that the matter will resolve soon and in favour of the right owner of Zambezi Portland Cement, Dr. Mahtani.