The fate of Zambezi Portland Cement was finally sealed recently after the decision from the Supreme Court Zambia. Zambezi Portland Cement has suffered numerous challenges in its lifetime. This challenge started when the Lusaka High Court gave a controversial decision announcing Ventriglia family as the only shareholders of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani was able to reverse this misdirected decision by approaching the higher Court of Appeal. On 31^st January 2019, judge Mwinde on behalf of the higher Court of Appeal gave its final verdict on the appeal by Dr. Rajan Mahtani. In this verdict, judge Mwinde reversed the decision from the Lusaka High Court and also condemned its decision. Dr. Rajan Mahtani received back his majority shares and legal ownership at the Portland Cement Zambia factory. Higher Court of Appeal also clarified on the amount to be paid against the majority shares owned by Finsbury Investments which was K580,000 against K580 million claimed by the Ventriglia family.

After more than a year of the decision from the Court of Appeal, the Ventriglia family made another controversial claim at the Supreme Court Zambia. In their claim, the verdict from the Higher Court of Appeal was challenged. To evaluate this bizarre claim from the Ventriglia family, a bench of three judges was established at the Supreme Court. This bench evaluated the case and found a critical legal aspect which the Ventriglia family failed to fulfil. According to the law, any claim against previous court decision must be made within 14 days of the court decision itself. In the current scenario, the Ventriglia family failed to comply with this legal requirement as they registered this appeal more than 17 months later. As a result, the Supreme Court found this claim from the Ventriglia family to be suspicious under the given circumstances. As a result, the Supreme Court bench effectively rejected this claim from the Ventriglia family and further confirmed Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s ownership over the Portland Cement Zambia factory.