As at the time of this breaking news article, uniformed and plain clothed members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police were at the Avenues Clinic, in Harare preventing Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association leader Dr Peter Magombeyi from leaving the medical facility to board a plane to South Africa to access specialist medical care in defiance of a High Court order issued earlier in the day by Justice Happias Zhou.

High Court Judge Justice Zhou on Tuesday interdicted Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) from preventing Magombeyi, from leaving Zimbabwe to access medical services in South Africa.

ZRP had on Monday Dr Magombeyi from travelling to South Africa to access urgent health care services that are not locally available in Zimbabwe after deploying some law enforcement agents to man the entrance at a local clinic, where Dr Magombeyi is detained.

This was in defiance of the recommendation by his doctors, who noted that he had suffered possible physical harm and psychological trauma which warranted that further functional brain imaging and further toxicological evaluation, which is not available in Zimbabwe, be conducted on him.

But Justice Zhou on Tuesday granted an application filed by Dr Magombeyi’s father, Kingstone Magombeyi, who in his court petition, protested against the ZRP’s actions and argued that the law enforcement agents’ actions were not authorised by law as Dr Magombeyi is a victim of abduction and enforced disappearance and has not been placed under arrest and has also not been accused of committing any offence.

In his ruling, Justice Zhou ordered the Officer-In-Charge of Criminal Investigations Department (Law and Order Section) at Harare Central Police Station only identified as Chibaya, ZRP Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga and Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Hon. Cain Mathema, who were cited as respondents, not to prevent directly or indirectly Dr Magombeyi from leaving Zimbabwe for the purposes of accessing medical services in South Africa.