Judgment No CCZ 8/16 26
Const. Application No CCZ 48/15
possibility of release, amounts to a breach of his rights to human dignity and protection
against inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under ss 51 and 53 of the
Constitution. It also constitutes a contravention of his right to equal protection and
benefit of the law under s 56(1) of the Constitution. However, all of this is subject to
what I have stated in relation to the extended application of the provisions of Part XX of
the Prisons Act.
Finally, it is necessary to address the alleged breach of the applicant’s right to
liberty contrary to section 49 of the Constitution. That section provides as follows:
“(1) Every person has the right to personal liberty, which includes the right—
(a) not to be detained without trial; and
(b) not to be deprived of their liberty arbitrarily or without just cause.
(2) No person may be imprisoned merely on the ground of inability to fulfil a
contractual obligation.”
My reading of these provisions is that they have no bearing whatsoever on the
applicant’s present situation. He has not been detained without trial or deprived of his
liberty arbitrarily or without just cause. And he certainly has not been imprisoned merely
on the ground of his inability to fulfil a contractual obligation. It is abundantly clear,
therefore, that the applicant has absolutely no basis for the complaint that his right to
liberty under s 49 of the Constitution has been violated in any way.
Appropriate Relief or Remedy
Apart from the constitutional declarators that the applicant seeks, he also seeks an
order for his immediate release from prison. As I have already intimated, such an order
would not be appropriate in casu, particularly as the facts before this Court do not
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