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Lovemore Chikova Features Writer
The case of Trauma Centre Hospital, now rebranded to AMI Hospital Harare, needs quick finalisation to ensure that the facility retains its original purpose of adding value to the Zimbabwean health system.

After dominating the courts for decades, no one is interested anymore in having fresh legal battles haunt the institution.

Observers say what should be done by the parties involved is to respect court judgments and act in accordance with the law.

While the major dispute on who controls Trauma Centre Hospital in Harare is over, with African Medical Investments winning the battle in the courts, it seems another fight that can be equally protracted has just began.

The control of assets is now at the centre of the dispute, with the warring sides, AMI plc and Dr Vivek Solanki’s Autoband Investments, now spoiling for control of just about anything, including a $70 000 Toyota Prado vehicle that has been under controversy for some time now.

The assumption was that when the courts ordered the eviction of Dr Solanki from the hospital in September this year, it followed that all the assets bought by AMI for use at the hospital would revert to the original owners.

But the case regarding the Toyota vehicle has since proven that Dr Solanki is not letting the hospital go without putting up a spirited fight.

Trauma Centre was at the centre of a dispute for a long time which ended up in the courts and dragged on for many years until in September this year when the court ruled that the facility belonged to AMI plc and that Dr Solanki must be evicted. Dr Solanki was indeed evicted, but at the centre of the new fight now are assets belonging to the institution.

This is where the Toyota Prado which cost AMI plc $70 000 comes in.

The matter concerning the vehicle has popped up in the courts during the various times that the two sides were fighting it out to control Trauma Centre.

What baffles the newly installed owners of Trauma Centre, which has since reverted to AMI Hospital Harare, is that the matter with regards to assets continues to drag on despite admittance by their rivals that they belong to AMI plc.

Speaking under cross-examination before Harare magistrate Mr Clever Tsikwa, Dr Solanki opened up and clearly stated that his own company or himself had not bought some of the assets under dispute, including the Toyota Prado.

Documents obtained at the courts show that during the criminal trial of Mr Annesley (CRB R944/12), Dr Solanki admitted that he did not own the vehicle.

When asked who bought the vehicle, Dr Solanki said “I cannot recall, but if my memory serves me AMI paid for it” and that “it does not belong to Autoband”, his company.

He also said during the same cross- examination that his understanding was that all the hospital equipment under dispute was paid for by AMI plc.

In a ruling he made on November 1, 2013, Mr Tsikwa said nothing had been brought before the courts to prove that Dr Solanki was a shareholder at Trauma Centre to enable him to claim the assets.

“Unfortunately, State counsel tried to politicise and sensationalise the case,” he said. “Most of the allegations against the accused persons (Mr Annesley and other AMI directors) have not been supported by evidence. Shareholding of Dr Solanki has not been proved.”

According to Mr Annesley, what came out of the court vindicated AMI, and Dr Solanki was now duty bound to let go all the assets belonging to the hospital, including the Toyota Prado.

Through his lawyer, Ms Beatrice Mtetwa, wrote to the responsible authorities on several occasions asking for the release of the vehicle to no avail.

In a letter she wrote to the police on May 28, 2014, Ms Mtetwa said they were on the verge of mounting a private prosecution if no one was interested in taking up the matter with the courts.

The court action and the correspondence between AMI plc directors and the police have shown that the Toyota Prado is now at the centre of the new battle for control of assets at the hospital.

The vehicle was reported as stolen on December 6, 2011, with the place of theft being listed as Sam Levy’s Village in Borrowdale at TM Supermarket car park.

He suspected that one of Dr Solanki’s workers could have trailed him and used duplicate keys to get possession of the vehicle. Documents obtained by The Herald Features show that the vehicle was imported by Kristen Coyle in 2009 and registered on August 24 2009.

Records perused at the Central Vehicle Registry indicate that the vehicle was still registered in the name of Coyle, who provided written permission for AMI plc to use it while awaiting change of ownership. In court, Coyle provided an affidavit indicting that the vehicle belonged to AMI plc and that she had been deceived into entering into an agreement of sale with Dr Solanki’s Autoband.

At one time Dr Solanki furnished the Vehicle Theft Squad with a Bond of Indemnity dated February 7, 2012 which was written by his lawyers Venturas and Samukange which he said meant the courts had ruled that ownership on the Toyota Prado and numerous other assets belonging to AMI plc belonged to Autoband or him- self.

“This document is not a court order document and in no way determines or rules on the ownership of assets that Solanki claims, furthermore it is dated after the date of theft of the motor vehicle,” said Mr Annesley.

Below is a summary of what the major players said about the vehicle and other assets at AMI Hospital Harare:

Coyle swore under oath in her affidavit dated January 31 2014 that:

She sold the vehicle and was paid for it in February

Notwithstanding the vehicle being registered in her name, it is now owned by AMI plc

She was unsuspectingly lured by representatives of Autoband on November 2, 2011 to sign an agreement of sale for $35 000 for the vehicle

The vehicle was fully paid for by AMI

Solanki under oath in court testified in January 2013 that:

The vehicle was not recovered from Mr Annesley in terms of a court order

AMI plc paid for the vehicle

AMI plc is the owner of the vehicle

The vehicle could not be his or Autoband’s because AMI plc paid for it

The vehicle was registered in Coyle’s name and admitted he was mistaken when he claimed that it was registered to Autoband

On November 1 2013, Mr Tsikwa ruled that:

The State had not proven ownership of any assets claimed by Dr Solanki

The State did not prove ownership of the property listed, especially in the light of Dr Solanki’s evidence with concerns to the vehicle

There is no single document that was produced to establish Dr Solanki’s claims.