The plaintiff claimed damages for assault, intimidation, trespass to person and false imprisonment by servants of the Government of the Republic of Zambia. He claimed that on or about the 3rd November, 1972, he was unlawfully removed from his place of detention by servants of the Government and taken to and wrongfully imprisoned in an unknown place until the 8th November, 1972. In the course of his imprisonment the plaintiff alleged that he was imprisoned in a filthy cell of minute proportions with little or no light or ventilation, forced to enter and remain in the nude, threatened with violence, subjected to torture and particularly to electric shock, interrogated in a dark room with bright lights directed into his eyes, punched and slapped, threatened with his life, given little and insufficient food and water, and forced to remain awake for long periods of time.
As a result of these acts of assault and intimidation by the servants of the Government the plaintiff claimed that he suffered pain and injuries and suffered loss and damage. Accordingly he claimed damages. The defendant denied the various allegations as set out in the statement of claim of the plaintiff, and contended that the plaintiff was lawfully removed from his original place of detention, in accordance with reg. 9 (4) of the Preservation of Public Security (Detained Persons) Regulations, and that his detention at the place to which the plaintiff was removed was therefore lawful.
Held:
(i) When a detained person is removed to a police station or other place under the provisions of reg. 9 (4) of the Preservation of Public Security (Detained Persons) Regulations, Cap. 106, he would have to be in the actual physical custody of a police officer with written authority by his superior officer who should stipulate the period that the detainee so removed was required at that place.
(ii) Since there was no written or verbal authority for the removal of the plaintiff from Kabwe police station, and he was never in the custody of a duly authorised police officer from the time he was transferred from Kabwe Central Police Station till he was escorted back to Lusaka police headquarters, the removal was in complete violation of the requirements of reg. 9 (4) of the Preservation of Public Security (Detained Persons) Regulations.
(iii) The words "other place" in reg. 9 (4) of the Preservation of Public Security (Detained Persons) Regulations cannot be construed to mean any unknown place such as a secret interrogation centre. On the contrary, on a proper construction these words can only refer to a place authorised by law which is not subject to any rules of secrecy and where the detainee continues to receive the protection of the law, since the regulation requires him to be in the custody of a police officer during this period.
(iv) The word "temporary" in reg. 9 (4) should be taken to mean a period of hours rather than days for the purposes of an investigation. Since the plaintiff was detained from the 3rd November to the 8th November, 1972, the period of detention did not conform with the provisions of reg. 9 (4) of the Preservation of Public Security (Detained Persons) Regulations.
(v) The tort of false imprisonment can be committed by imprisoning a person in an unauthorised place. The word "false" means "wrongly".
(vi) For the tort of intimidation to be committed it is necessary that the plaintiff should suffer actual loss.
(vii) The plaintiff has been subjected to torture, inhuman and degrading treatment contrary to the protection which he enjoyed under the Constitution. Hence he is entitled to exemplary damages.
