News / National
Court orders Avenues clinic to restore radiology department
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Baines Imaging Group (BIG) has won a major legal battle against The Avenues Clinic (Medical Investments Ltd) after the High Court granted a spoliation order compelling the hospital to restore the radiology department that was forcibly shut down last week.
The ruling followed a dramatic Defence Forces holiday incident in which BIG staff and management — who have operated at the clinic for over 25 years — were physically ejected from the premises. The closure left critical patients without access to essential diagnostic services, sparking outrage and fears of a healthcare crisis.
A spoliation order is a legal remedy designed to protect possession rights by restoring a party to undisturbed use of property from which they were unlawfully dispossessed.
In its urgent application, BIG argued that Medical Investments Ltd acted illegally by enforcing a disputed arbitration award without proper court authority. The court sided with BIG, ordering the hospital and its representatives to restore the group's "peaceful possession" of the radiology facilities, including the Diagnostic Imaging Department, CT Scan Suite, and 3T MRI Suite.
The order effectively reverses the forcible closure, allowing BIG to resume operations immediately.
In a statement, BIG described the hospital's actions as "illegal and dangerous", warning that patients' lives had been placed at risk.
Tensions between the two parties reportedly escalated after a new shareholder entered Medical Investments Ltd in 2023, with BIG alleging that the investor had shown interest in taking over the radiology business despite BIG's lease being valid until 2031.
The ruling restores a semblance of stability for now, but the dispute underscores growing tensions in Zimbabwe's private healthcare sector, where corporate interests often clash with the delivery of essential services.
The ruling followed a dramatic Defence Forces holiday incident in which BIG staff and management — who have operated at the clinic for over 25 years — were physically ejected from the premises. The closure left critical patients without access to essential diagnostic services, sparking outrage and fears of a healthcare crisis.
A spoliation order is a legal remedy designed to protect possession rights by restoring a party to undisturbed use of property from which they were unlawfully dispossessed.
In its urgent application, BIG argued that Medical Investments Ltd acted illegally by enforcing a disputed arbitration award without proper court authority. The court sided with BIG, ordering the hospital and its representatives to restore the group's "peaceful possession" of the radiology facilities, including the Diagnostic Imaging Department, CT Scan Suite, and 3T MRI Suite.
In a statement, BIG described the hospital's actions as "illegal and dangerous", warning that patients' lives had been placed at risk.
Tensions between the two parties reportedly escalated after a new shareholder entered Medical Investments Ltd in 2023, with BIG alleging that the investor had shown interest in taking over the radiology business despite BIG's lease being valid until 2031.
The ruling restores a semblance of stability for now, but the dispute underscores growing tensions in Zimbabwe's private healthcare sector, where corporate interests often clash with the delivery of essential services.
Source - The Herald
