The court
ruling comes after a dramatic weekend that saw the long-standing medical
imaging provider being ousted from the premises it has occupied for over 25
years.
A spoliation
order is a legal remedy that restores a party to peaceful and undisturbed
possession of property from which they have been unlawfully and forcibly
dispossessed.
The dispute
came to a head during the Defence Forces holiday when BIG staff and management
were physically removed from the hospital.
The incident,
which was reported to Harare Central Police, left critical patients without
access to essential diagnostic services at one of the country’s largest private
hospitals.
According to a
statement from BIG, The Avenues Clinic, operated by Medical Investment Limited,
acted on the basis of a disputed arbitration award and did so without the
necessary legal court papers to enforce the removal.
BIG condemned
the move as “illegal and dangerous”, citing the potential for a major
healthcare crisis.
In a swift
legal response, BIG filed an urgent application seeking a spoliation order.
The court
granted the order on Wednesday, with the ruling stating that the application
for the spoliation order “succeeds”.
The order
commands The Avenues Clinic, its representatives, and any persons acting on its
instructions to “restore to the applicant the undisturbed and peaceful
possession of the business premises and operations”.
This includes
the leased spaces known as “The Diagnostic Imaging Department, CT Scan Suite
and 3TMRI Suite”.
The court’s
decision effectively reverses the forcible closure and allows BIG to resume
operations at the hospital.
The
relationship between the two entities reportedly soured after a new partner
acquired shares in Medical Investments Ltd in 2023.
According to
BIG, this new partner appeared to have a strong interest in taking over the
radiology business within the hospital, despite BIG having renewed its lease
for another 10 years, with the lease set to expire in 2031. Herald
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