The case of Portland Cement Zambia can be easily described as one of the most peculiar cases in the history of Zambian legal system. The case received significant media and press attention as a result of the ownership of the factory as well as the individuals associated with it. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, a noted businessman and philanthropist in Zambia registered a case at the Lusaka High Court with the claim that his factory was unethically taken over from him. Despite having all evidences, the final decision took more than a decade to occur.
While the final verdict was announced during the month of May, 2018, a major announcement was made just few months before. This announcement was made by justice Nkonde on behalf of the Lusaka High Court who also gave the final verdict. According to this announcement, all case proceedings were closed by the court and the parties were asked to share all evidences in written and oral format. Post evaluation of these evidences, the final verdict was to be provided. It was a sure-shot win for Dr. Rajan Mahtani considering the fact that he had all evidences and testimonials to prove his claim. However, the opposite occurred and Ventriglias were announced as only shareholders of the Portland Cement factory.
This misdirected decision was then successfully countered at the higher Court of Appeal wherein the judge Mwinde announced that Dr. Rajan Mahtani has 58 percent shares at the factory with official documents and that he is the actual owner of this factory based on the evidences.
Rajan Mahtani News 