On 31st January 2019, the final judgement on Zambezi Portland Cement was made. This judgement was made by the Court of Appeal where the case was taken by Dr. Rajan Mahtani after the misdirected decision at the Lusaka High Court. Even after more than ten years of court proceedings and sharing of evidences and documents, the judge at the Lusaka High Court announced that the Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement. This gave Dr. Rajan Mahtani no choice but to approach the Court of Appeal.
The judgement at the Court of Appeal was given by Justice Mwinde. While giving the judgement, Justice Mwinde also said that the judge below him was wrong in declaring Ventriglias as only shareholders of Zambezi Portland Cement without having any proof or evidence. With this, Justice Mwinde effectively reversed the judgement by the Lusaka High Court judge. According to the final judgement by the Court of Appeal, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments holds 58 percent shares at the factory and is the majority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement. On the other hand, the Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited holds just 42 percent shares and is the minority shareholder of the Zambezi Portland Cement factory. According to this shareholding pattern, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the legal owner of the factory. This shareholding pattern aligns with the original shareholders agreement which was established in the year 2007. Thus, the Zambezi Portland Cement factory legally goes back to its original and real owner, Dr. Rajan Mahtani.
Furthermore, the judge from the Court of Appeal also shared some startling facts associated with the case. All allegations of forgery were rejected by the judge as it was confirmed that the process of mechanically placing signatures was a common practice across Zambezi Portland Cement. Now that the factory is in right hands, a huge task lies for Dr. Rajan Mahtani ahead which is the revival of the cement factory.