Zambezi Portland Cement is one of the most notable cement-factory in Zambia. The factory was established in the year 2007 with a shareholders agreement. Dr. Rajan Mahtani, a noted businessman and philanthropist in Zambia, has been fighting for the legal takeover of the factory for more than a decade. The case was first registered by Dr. Mahtani at the Lusaka High Court after the illegal takeover of the factory. Since then, numerous proceedings took place and the final judgment was announced during May 2018. The judgement was condemned by majority as it was given against Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s claims and after then, another appeal was launched at the Court of Appeal.
The final judgement from the Higher Court of Appeal revealed the truth about the case. As per the final judgment at the Court of Appeal, Finsbury Investments is the majority shareholder with 58 percent shares and Ventriglias are minority shareholders with 42 percent shares. This shareholding announcement is different from the one held at the Lusaka High Court. Furthermore, Justice Mwinde who gave the judgement at the Court of Appeal also said that the judge below him was misdirected in holding the final decision that Ventriglias were only shareholders and his judgement was against the law.
Furthermore, allegations of forgery made against the appellant were discarded by the Court of Appeal. The judge announced that the practice of mechanical placement of signatures is common across Zambian businesses and the Ventriglias were also engaged in similar practices. Therefore, no allegations of forgery can be established. The shareholding pattern confirmed at the Court of Appeal is in line with the original shareholders agreement established and signed by main parties in the year 2007. The court has provided a timeframe of three months from the date of judgement during which, all parties are required to regulate and process the shareholding patterns and complete the transactions.