Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Supports Zambian President’s Decision

Current Zambian President, Hakainde Hichilema, recently made an announcement. On the occasion of Africa Day, President Hichilema announced that he plans to abolish the death penalty. This announcement has received widespread support across Zambia. One of the supporters has been Dr.Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, a noted businessman, philanthropist, and charity worker from Zambia. Dr.Rajan Mahtani is the owner of Prison Fellowship Zambia (PFZ), a noted Christian Outreach Program focussing on bringing the teachings of Jesus Christ to the prisoners, ex-prisoners as well as their families in Zambia. Also, the institute works to ensure that the prisoners are allowed transparent criminal justice and are not devoid of fundamental human rights & basic human dignity. As such, Dr. Mahtani founded Prison Fellowship and has extended its full support towards the decision made by the Zambian President. Dr. Rajan Mahtani, while adding his voice to this announcement, stated that there is a significant difference between making such a bold announcement and making it a reality. This is due to the significant bureaucracy, corruption and long processes within the government to change an archaic yet old and established law. As such, Prison Fellowship will provide legal and regulatory support to ensure that the announcement sees the light of the day.

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani further stated that the punishment of the death penalty is cruel, inhumane, and degrading. Supporting this statement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani stated that the death penalty is not the solution for the increasing crimes, criminal activities, and unethical practices across the nation. Across Zambia, there are more than 380 prisoners awaiting death penalty and among them, around 25-30 are women. These people get up every day with the fear that it might be their last day on this planet. At the same time, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani has also stated that he received the privilege of meeting several inmates who have completely devoted themselves to the services of the almighty God.

Prison Fellowship will provide support for the President’s decision in all manner possible.

Zambian President Decides To Work On Death Penalty Abolishment

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, noted businessman and philanthropist in Zambia, has extended his full support towards Zambian President’s decision. Recently, President of Zambia Hakainde Hichilema made a bold announcement that he is planning to abolish the death penalty row. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, who is the founder and current chairman of the Prison Fellowship Zambia, has wholeheartedly supported this decision.
According to Dr. Rajan Mahtani, more than 350 prisoners, including both men and women, are currently under the death penalty row. Being on this death penalty row is a significant punishment for the convicts as they expect execution at any day. While working with Prison Fellowship Zambia, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has observed that several inmates transformed themselves by dedicating entirely to the services of god and becoming law abiding citizens. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani further stated that majority of the past Presidents have avoided death penalty row by using certain mercy perogatives. The last time death penalty was ordered was in the year 1997. Also, several organizations such as Correctional services and Parole Board have started to work with the Zambian Government towards planned release of the Zambian Prisoners after transforming this. This comes after several reports of inhumane and degrading living conditions across Zambian Prisons. Even former vice-presidents have considered the condition across Zambian prisons as hell and impossible to survive.
The consensus towards abolishing death penalty has grown significantly across the globe and across Africa. Even in Zambia, the voice is not new as many institutions and organizations have been working towards abolishing this cruel and inhumane practice. Even then, there was a need for involvement from the top government and this has now become a reality with the latest announcement made by the Zambian President. Dr. Rajan Mahtani also stated that there is a long road from announcing the intent to making it happen in a legal manner, which will require significant legal reforms. Dr. Mahtani’s firm will support the President in all manner possible.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani Wins Coveted Forbes Award

The Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards for the year 2021 were recently organized in Africa. It was a virtual event that was organized along with the Forbes-FIN philanthropy and leadership roundtable conference. The Forbes-FIN philanthropy and roundtable conference is one of the most anticipated business, philanthropy and leadership events in Zambia. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, a noted businessman, philanthropist and charity person from Zambia, was invited in this event for the year 2021 as an honorary speaker. Dr. Rajan Mahtani discussed about the significance of healthcare leadership, especially during the pandemic times. This year’s Forbes-FIN philanthropy and roundtable conference was held virtually to comply with the ongoing covid-19 pandemic.

Just like the Forbes-FIN philanthropy and leadership roundtable conference, the Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards were also presented during the roundtable conference. Apart from being invited as an honorary speaker, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was also recognised for his significant contributions towards redefining the banking sector of Zambia. Dr. Rajan Mahtani was conferred with the Forbes ‘Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year’ award 2021 and accepted the award in a graceful manner. Dr. Mahtani, apart from his contributions in the banking sector, was also recognised for his philanthropy, charitable and business contributions. He is the owner of top companies in Zambia, including Mahtani Group of Companies and Finsbury Investments. He is also known for several philanthropic achievements. For instance, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the founder and current chairman of the Prison Fellowship International (PFI) a program which focusses on the welfare of the inmates, ex-inmates as well as their families in Zambia. Dr. Rajan Mahtani is also noted for establishing the Stephen Malama award and Scholarship for top law graduates in Zambia.

Just like Dr. Rajan Mahtani, several other visionaries, entrepreneurs and businessmen were selected for their philanthropic achievements. Some of these visionaries included Revd Paul Adefarasin, Nana Kwame Bediako, Leonard Nnamdi Stanley Ekeh, Ken Sharpe, Mahmood Ahmau Oon, MIOD, Claver Gatete, Wendy Ackerman and Sam Matekane. All these were presented the award in virtual manner.

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Receives Significant Award By Forbes

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, a noted businessman and philanthropist from Zambia, was recently conferred with one of the most prestigious philanthropy and leadership awards in Africa. This award ceremony was called Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards. As the name suggested, the award ceremony was developed by Forbes which is one of the top business magazines across the globe. The Forbes is famous for its rankings and lists of top businesses, entrepreneurs, leaders, and several other categories that are noted worldwide. In Africa, the Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards can be easily considered as the most awaited, respected and regarded corporate and philanthropy awards. The awards are given to visionaries, businessmen and leaders who have made significant contributions in the field of philanthropy and consider this as a means to achieve long-term empowerment of the African nation. One of the reasons for high value and recognition of the awards is the selection process. The selection process comprises of months of verification and background checks, conducted by both Forbes and FIN (Foreign Investment Limited). This is followed by interviews and discussions with the potential awardees to understand their viewpoints and long-term contributions as well as commitment towards philanthropy to achieve overall empowerment. Based on these evaluations as well as overall contributions of the candidates in philanthropy and leadership, the awards are given across different categories.

The 2021 Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ award ceremony was held during the Forbes-FIN philanthropy and leadership roundtable conference. This conference is usually held in New York. However, this year’s conference was held online as a result of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. Dr. Rajan Mahtani was invited in this pandemic as an honorary speaker and discussed about the significance of leadership in healthcare. In a similar fashion, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was selected by Forbes for one of the ‘Best of Africa’ awards. Forbes recognised the contributions by Dr. Rajan Mahtani towards redefining the banking sector of Zambia and awarded him with the Forbes ‘Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year’ award 2021.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Fetches Forbes Award

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is one of the most notable and celebrated businessman and philanthropist from Zambia. For more than four decades, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been working towards the growth and development of the Zambian nation. Recently, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was conferred with one of the most prestigious and notable awards across Africa. This award is known as Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards and is given to visionaries and businesses with significant contributions towards philanthropic achievements and empowerment. The Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ award ceremony was a part of the FIN (Foreign Investment Limited) philanthropic and leadership roundtable conference. This year’s roundtable conference was held online as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani was also invited in this event as a honorary speaker and discussed about the significance of leadership in healthcare.
The Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards is one of the most anticipated corporate awards across Africa. The award ceremony celebrates and recognises leading lights in the field of philanthropy and a means to achieve empowerment. The awards are regarded highly among analysts, critics as well as business industries and sectors due to various reasons. First, the award ceremony is developed by Forbes which is one of the top business magazines across the globe. Secondly, the process of selecting the participants is extremely rigorous yet transparent. The process comprises of months of verification and background checks, authentications as well as interviews and discussions with the recipients to understand their perception and long-term view about philanthropy as a means to achieve empowerment.
Dr. Rajan Mahtani, for his significant contributions towards the banking industry was awarded with the Forbes ‘Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year’ award 2021. Dr. Rajan Mahtani made these contributions in various fields. Some of his major business contributions include Mahtani Group and Finsbury Investments. In a similar manner, his philanthropic contributions include Stephen Malama award and scholarship for top law graduates Zambia as well as Prison Fellowship Zambia.

Beautiful Eulogy Shared By Dr. Mahtani For Late Kenneth Kaunda

Before gaining global recognition as a nation, Zambia was a cluster of several small tribes, often fighting among themselves. One man is credited for uniting more than 73 tribes across the Zambian nation, resulting in a recognised nation within the world map as well as within Africa. This person is none other than the first president of Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda. Sadly, Kenneth Kaunda is no longer with us and his demise has certainly saddened the entire nation. The entire Mahtani family is devastated with this news and have shared their deepest condolences and regards to the Kaunda family. Dr. Mahtani and Kenneth Kaunda had close associations, dating back to the latter’s father, late Lekhraj Mahtani. A Ndola-based councillor, late Lekhraj Mahtani was instrumental in providing support as well as collaborating with Kenneth Kaunda in his quest for Zambian freedom and independence. It is with the support and earnest trust from dedicated people like late Lekhraj Mahtani that the Independence hero of Zambia was able to fulfil the dreams of an independent Zambia. This legacy of late Lekhraj Mahtani as well as Dr. Kaunda has been taken forward by Dr. Mahtani in his quest for development and continuous improvement of the Zambian nation. Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s established companies are a major source of employment and livelihood across several of the Zambian provinces. His companies like Finsbury Investments is credited for several public infrastructure projects such as schools, hospitals and housing complexes.

Despite baseless allegations continuously trying to strain Dr. Mahtani’s reputation, his work has never stopped and Dr. Mahtani continuous to refute such claims with utmost integrity, honesty as well as ethical and legal guidelines. As such, it can be said that Dr. Mahtani is an ideal candidate showcasing the legacy and philosophies set by late Kenneth Kaunda. His demise and remembrance is a period when Zambians must open their eyes to the state of Zambian politics, economy and social conditions and work together towards the betterment of the nation.

Disturbances Created Despite Supreme Court Decision

Dr. Rajan Mahtani is a prominent businessman in Zambia who has always remained at the legal side of the business. He is considered as among those few businessmen in Zambia who have achieved success in spite of the rampant corruption, bureaucracy and unethical practices across the nation, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been able to maintain a healthy business portfolio of transparent businesses such as Mahtani Group of Companies, Finsbury Investments and Finance Bank Zambia. At the same time, Dr. Mahtani continues to face challenges in his daily business operations. The prime example is the case of Portland Cement Zambia factory which dragged for more than 12 years before finally settling at the Supreme Court Zambia.

The first court to take the case was Lusaka High Court which announced its decision during May, 2018. However, this decision was controversial as the Ventriglias were announced as only majority shareholders and owners of the factory without any relevant evidence or testimonials. Then came the higher Court of Appeal which announced its verdict on 31st January 2019 in which the previous decision from the Lusaka High Court was rejected and Dr. Mahtani was announced as majority shareholder as well as legal owner of the factory. The third court was Supreme Court Zambia where a case was taken by the Ventriglia family claiming the decision from the higher Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court Zambia evaluated this claim and rejected it effectively due to lack of evidences, questioning circumstances as well as non-compliance of critical legislations.
However, it seems like the Ventriglia family have a blatant disregard for the highest-level court of the nation as they have continuous to mount their illegal status within the cement-manufacturing factory. Reports have indicated that hired thugs placed at the factory continuously prevented appointment of interim CEO so that no one takes charge of the factory. This attempt is a clear disregard of the judgement from the nations’ highest legal court. It seems like the Ventriglia family think themselves as above low. As of now, Dr. Mahtani has been given the official shareholding and legal ownership of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Manages To Gain Back Portland Cement Ownership Through Court Of Appeal

On 31st January 2019, the Portland Cement Zambia case was finally closed. The case closure was done by justice Mwinde from the Court of Appeal, the second court where the case was heard. It should be noted here that the first court where the case was registered was Lusaka High Court. The case dragged in the court for more than a decade and the final decision was announced by justice Nkonde during the month of May, 2018. However, the final decision was controversial with justice Nkonde announcing Ventriglias as only shareholders. It was after this controversial case judgement which prompted Dr. Rajan Mahtani to take the case up with the higher Court of Appeal.

The higher Court of Appeal gave its final decision on 31st January 2019. This decision was given after all evidences, testimonials and other reports were evaluated thoroughly. One big difference between the two courts is this difference in transparency. While the same evidences, testimonials and other details were provided to the Lusaka High Court justice too, lack of transparency, corruption and unethical practices resulted in the court ignoring these critical evidences and giving an extremely controversial decision panned by the general citizens.

However, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is thankful that he did not suffer the same fate at Court of Appeal too. After evaluation of presented evidences, testimonials as well as all other written and oral representations, the final statement declared Dr. Rajan Mahtani as majority owner of the factory. This statement was made based on the fact that Dr. Mahtani holds ownership of Finsbury Investments which in turn holds majority shareholding of Portland Cement with 58 percent shares.

On the other hand, Ventriglias were found to be just minority shareholders as their entity, Ital Terrazzo Limited was allotted just 42 percent Portland Cement shares during the original agreement. Based on this transparent judgement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the only legal owner of the factory.

Majority Shareholding Goes To Finsbury Investments, Portland Cement Zambia Case Closed

The Portland Cement Zambia case has been finally closed. The case started more than a decade ago when it was registered at the Lusaka High Court by none other than Dr. Rajan Mahtani. Dr. Mahtani had claimed the legal and actual ownership of Portland Cement Zambia and also claimed that the factory was unethically and forcefully taken away from him. Despite having all evidences, facts and testimonials for re-claiming his factory, the Lusaka High Court dragged the case for more than a decade. Major reasons attributing to this long pendency can be lack of proper ethical standings at the court, regular transfers of judges leading to case starting again from the scratch, unethical acts from the opponents such as not attending case hearing or bribing the department and many more. As a result of these challenges, it took more than a decade to make a final announcement to the case. However, even this announcement was controversial. The judge at the Lusaka High Court giving the final judgement was justice Nkonde who announced that Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Portland Cement Zambia.

After this, the second and most important phase of the case started. Dr. Rajan Mahtani took the case to the Court of Appeal, one of the highest civilian courts in Zambia. The judge who took the case was justice Mwinde and he gave the final decision on 31st January 2019, around nine months after the re-appeal. Unlike the previous judges, justice Mwnde looked into all evidences and testimonials and only after complete checking, shared the final results. As per this decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the actual owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory as he owns 58 percent shares of the factory. The Ventriglias, on the other hand, hold just 42 percent shares at the factory and are the minority shareholders without any legal ownership. Based on this decision from the Court of Appeal judge, it is clearly established that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the actual owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

Dr. Mahtani Announced Portland Cement Zambia Winner By Court Of Appeal

After more than a decade of wait, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been given majority shareholding and ownership of Portland Cement Zambia factory. This decision came from Court of Appeal, one of the highest civilian courts in Zambia and the second court to announce the judgement. This decision from Court of Appeal came on 31st January 2019, around nine months after the case was registered there. The judge at the Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde who gave the judgement after looking into all evidences and testimonials. According to this decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments holds 58 percent shares at the factory and is the majority shareholder of the factory. On the other hand, Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited holds just 42 percent shares at the factory and are the minority shareholders without any legal ownership over the factory. This decision from the Court of Appeal aligned with the original shareholders agreement established in the year 2007. Based on this decision, it is clear that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the actual owner of the factory.

By giving this decision, the judge from the Court of Appeal effectively reversed the judgement from the Lusaka High Court which had earlier announced that Ventriglias were the only shareholders of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. The judge from the Court of Appeal also said that the judge below him was wrong in declaring Ventriglias as only shareholders as this decision was misdirected and without any evidences. In terms of the forgery allegations, all such allegations were discarded by the judge. The judge confirmed that the process of mechanically placing signatures was a common practice in Portland Cement Zambia and critical member of the Ventriglia family, Claudio Ventriglia, engaged in similar practice and as such, all forgery related allegations were discarded. With this Court of Appeal judgement, the Portland Cement Zambia factory goes finally to Dr. Rajan Mahtani.