The factual details and evidences given by Dr. Rajan Mahtani regarding Portland Cement Zambia were finally given true justice at the Court of Appeal. Dr. Rajan Mahtani is a noted businessman and philanthropist in Zambia and has been constantly building successful companies within the nation as well as across other international locations too. Some of his top companies are Finsbury Investments, Mahtani Group of Companies and Finance Bank Zambia. He is also known for his philanthropic and charitable activities and working towards the social and economic uplifting of the Zambian society. Despite these contributions, he is often targeted by jealous individuals and groups.

The case of Lusaka High Court can be considered as a big limitation of the Zambian legal system to provide transparent and ethical justice. Dr. Rajan Mahtani had initially approached the Lusaka High Court expecting a quick judgement as he had all evidences, factual details and testimonials to prove his legal ownership over the factory. However, the court proceedings stretched for ten years and despite this long tenure, the final judgement was not justified. The judge at the Lusaka High Court was justice Nkonde and he announced that Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement.

Considering this judgement to be unethical, Dr. Rajan Mahtani then approached the Court of Appeal, one of the highest civilian courts in Zambia. The Court of Appeal gave its final judgement on 31^st January 2019. According to this judgement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments is majority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement with 58 percent shares. On the other hand, Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited holds 42 percent shares and is just minority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement factory. This shareholding pattern also aligned with original shareholders agreement established in the year 2007. As such, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been rightly announced as the legal owner of the Zambezi Portland Cement factory.

While the judgement on the Portland Cement Zambia came at last, it came at significant cost. This cost was in the form of time during which the Zambezi Portland Cement factory degraded to the extent of closure. This cost was also in the form of time and money spent by honest businessmen like Dr. Rajan Mahtani who spent an entire decade seeking justice from the Lusaka High Court. Despite spending this significant cost, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was not given justice by the court when the final decision was made. According to this decision by Justice Nkonde at the Lusaka HC, Ventriglias were held as only stakeholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement. Naturally, this decision caused a stir everywhere and Dr. Rajan Mahtani was forced to take the case to higher Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal announced its final judgement on 31^st January 2019. The decision was given by Justice Mwinde and safe to say that the highest court within the Zambian nation did not disappoint. According to this decision by the Court of Appeal, Finsbury Investments holds 58 percent shares at the factory and is the majority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement. On the other hand, Ventriglias are the minority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement with only 42 percent shares. According to this shareholding pattern, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments is the legal owner of the Zambezi Portland factory. This decision is in line with the original Shareholders Agreement which was established in the year 2007. Furthermore, while giving this decision, the judge at the Court of Appeal also said that the judge below him was wrong in declaring Ventriglias as only shareholders of Zambezi Portland Cement without any evidence or factual confirmation.

As of now, a timeline of three months from the date of the judgement has been provided by the justice at the Court of Appeal during which all share regularization process must be completed.

Court of Appeal is one of the highest decision-making bodies across any nation. It has similar repute as the Supreme Court of any nation. As such, any decision given by the Court of Appeal is of umpteen importance and is considered as the final judgment. In case of the Zambezi Portland Cement, the final decision was given by the Court of Appeal on 31^st January 2019. According to this decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the majority shareholder and legal owner of the Zambezi Portland Cement. By giving this decision, the judge from the Court of Appeal effectively reversed the judgment by the Lusaka High Court given last year. The judge from the Lusaka High Court, Justice Nkonde, gave decision on May 2018 that Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement. Contesting this decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani then approached the Court of Appeal which announced its decision nine months later.

The judge from the Court of Appeal was Justice Mwinde who also said that the judge below him was wrong in declaring Ventriglias as only shareholders without having any proof or evidence. Furthermore, forgery allegations were charged by the Ventriglias which were completely discarded by the judge. Justice Mwinde gave the final decision that the process of mechanically placing signatures for business transactions was a common practice across Zambezi Portland Cement and in fact, member of Ventriglia family engaged in similar practices. Furthermore, the Court of Appeal gave a time period of three months from judgment date during which all parties are required to finalize on the process of share regularization process.

In the meantime, Finsbury Investments have claimed a sum of K1 billion against the payment made for entire share capital issues of Zambezi Portland Cement. The payment has been confirmed by the Court of Appeal with evidences of payments during late 2006 and early 2007.

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is a noted businessman in Zambia. He considers himself as the proud citizen of the Zambian nation. He has been working in Zambia for more than thirty years and during this time, has established numerous successful businesses both domestically as well as across several foreign nations. Some of his most notable businesses in Zambia are Mahtani Group of Companies, Finsbury Investments and Finance Bank Zambia. He is also known for his charitable contributions and philanthropic activities across the nation. His connections and network across developed nations such as United Kingdom has helped him in bringing several foreign investments in Zambia. He is also the legal owner of Portland Cement Zambia, a cement-manufacturing factory which was founded with the objective of providing affordable and high-quality Portland cement to Zambian citizens. However, the factory was illegally taken over by scrupulous individuals and for the past ten years, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been fighting the case at the Lusaka High Court. Since then, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been working tirelessly to get back his factory. The case was running at the Lusaka High Court for the past ten years and only recently the final judgement was given.

During the course of these ten years, the condition of the factory has degraded significantly. The factory assets have corroded and the factory cashbox has been completely emptied. While more than half of the workers and employees have left the factory, those working have not received wages for several months. At the same time, the judges overlooking the cases during the course of ten years were not convinced that Dr. Rajan Mahtani was the real owner of the factory, despite sharing several crucial evidences. It is clear that the decision making was influenced when the final judgment was given and it was against Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s claims. As such, Dr. Mahtani took the right step and has launched another appeal to ‘higher court of appeal’ wherein his request for revisiting the judgment is expected to be heard soon.