any community is of paramount importance. Section 27(1) seeks to promote a peaceful environment conducive to the enjoyment of fundamental human rights by citizens and the community at large. The blanket ban on all demonstrations upheld by Chiweshe JP clearly constitutes a negation of a right rather than a mere limitation. The judgment does not address the issue of negating the core of the right concerned. However, the Judge President did accept that the limitation imposed by section 27 (1) of POSA “has the effect of imposing greater restrictions than are necessary to achieve its purpose” (at page 13 of the cyclostyled judgment; emphasis added). This in itself ought to be a decisive point in favour of the application. A restriction that goes beyond what is necessary to achieve its purpose must be unconstitutional. But CHIWESHE JP quickly qualified his finding on the effect of the limitation thus: “Its effect is limited in terms of the duration and the restricted geographical area in which the ban may be imposed” (at page 13 of the cyclostyled judgment). He held that the limited effect of the restriction in relation to duration and geographical area rendered constitutional a ban that would otherwise have been unconstitutional. With respect, this kind of reasoning is faulty. If the restriction goes beyond what is necessary, it is unconstitutional. The fact that the restriction only applies in a limited area for a limited time does not change the position. Implicit in the court’s finding that the ban on demonstrations went beyond what is necessary is the idea that less stringent restrictions would have catered for the concerns of the police. Chiweshe JP decided that the imposition of lesser restrictions was an option. This was because (he said) “the enabling legislation (POSA) does not give the regulating authority options other than those provided for under section 27.” If in fact no such options are available, then this too is a reason for striking down section 27. The police stated that they opposed the holding of the demonstration because they believed it would result in violence. Section 27 (1) confers on a regulating authority a discretionary power to decide whether a demonstration should be prohibited on the ground that it might lead to public disorder. However, the regulating authority may only arrive at this decision if he “believes on reasonable grounds” (section 27 (1)) that disorder will result. This means that the regulating authority must act in good faith. Thus, he must sincerely and genuinely believe that disorder will result, but this is not enough. It is also necessary that reasonable grounds exist which underpin the belief. The regulating authority must be able to point to objective facts which justify and make explicable the belief held. So, were the police able to point to facts which indicated that violence would arise if the demonstration went ahead? Did a dangerous situation in fact exist? In Forum Party of Zimbabwe & Ors v Minister of Local Government 1996 (1) ZLR 461 (H) ADAM J said at 486: “A situation cannot be said to have arisen if it is not so factually.” In the DARE case, Chiweshe JP decided that the possibility of violence was real, but only on the basis of an assertion to that effect by the police. No facts or evidence were presented to the court to justify this assertion apart from an assertion that violence had occurred at other demonstrations. Nevertheless the court held that this sufficed to satisfy the “reasonable grounds” requirement stipulated in section 27 (1) of POSA. This conclusion is very difficult to support. The blanket ban on demonstrations was more than just a limitation of the right to demonstrate contained in section 59 of the Constitution: it was a complete negation of the core or essential essence of that right. But even if the ban