The petitioner sought a declaration against the Attorney-General that treatment meted out to him in detention was inhuman and in violation of the Constitution and that his detention was illegal and unjustified. At the trial the petitioner pursued the following grounds:
(i) that he was detained under Reg. 33 (1) of the Preservation of Public Security Regulations by order dated 26th January, 1973, and that his detention on or after the 17th September, 1973, after the Government had found out that he was wrongly detained, was mala fide and unjustified;
(ii) that the detaining authorities further refused to clarify the vague grounds for his detention in writing and thus he was unable to brief and instruct a legal representative to take legal proceedings on his behalf, as provided for in Article 27 (1) (d) of the Zambian Constitution;
(iii) that he was subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment in violation of Article 17 of the Zambian Constitution and ultra vires the Preservation of Public Security Regulations.
Held:
(i) If the evidence indicates that the petitioner has failed to establish that the Government was aware that he was not involved in the allegations set down in the grounds of detention, his detention was not wrongful, mala fide or unjustified, even though the Vice - President had said that he would try to negotiate with the Central Committee to see if the petitioner could be released.
(ii) Where the petitioner whilst in detention was visited on a number of occasions by two lawyers it cannot be said that he was not afforded facilities for legal consultation.
(iii) If there is no evidence at all of torture, and the persons to whom complaints have been made are not called as witnesses, the books in which complaints have been recorded are not produced in court and no application is made to the prison authorities to produce these documents, the court would not be in a position to conclude on a balance of probability that the petitioner was subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment in violation of the Constitution of Zambia.