It is always a good option to stick to the legal side of business, no matter how difficult life can get. One example of perseverance is Dr. Rajan Mahtani, a noted businessman and philanthropist from Zambia with many successful business ventures under his name. Dr. Rajan Mahtani has claimed to be the real owner of the Zambezi Portland Cement which was forcefully taken over from him.
The case of Zambezi Portland Cement was initially launched at the Lusaka High Court. There, it passed many judgement and incomplete proceedings. The final judgement came from Justice Nkonde who was perceived to be ethical and disciplined, and also demanded that the final judgement will be given after looking into all evidences as well as written and oral testimonials from both parties. However, this perception of a disciplined judge was deceiving when the final decision was announced by Justice Nkonde. According to this final decision, the Ventriglias were regarded as only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement.
Considering this judgement to be non-transparent and unethical, Dr. Rajan Mahtani took the case higher to Court of Appeal, which is one of the highest courts in Zambia. The case at the Court of Appeal was overlooked by justice Mwinde. The judge made the final announcement on 31st January 2019. According to this judgement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments was found to be the majority shareholder with 58 percent shares at the factory. On the other hand, the Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited held 42 percent shares at the factory and was only the minority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement.
Therefore, it was confirmed that Dr. Rajan Mahtani was the legal owner and the rightful holder of the Zambezi Portland Cement factory. Even though many news publications tried to defame the judgement from Court of Appeal, these were considered to be baseless and the decision from Court of Appeal is permanent.