Personal Liberty and Rights of the arrested persons
Introduction
In the recent past we have documented a multitude of incidents where human rights activists and
citizens were arrested, detained for long periods and denied bail repeatedly. The Constitution of
Zimbabwe, read together with other laws, promotes the right to personal liberty and also
provides rights for accused, arrested and detained persons. These rights are acknowledged and
expressed in section 49, 50 and 70.
What is the Right to Personal Liberty
According to Section 49 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, (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. In line with the right to personal liberty,
any person arrested for an alleged offence or for the purposes of being brought to court, must be
brought to court within 48 hours, and if not , section 50 (3) provides that , the accused person
must be released immediately.
What is Bail and its purpose?
Bail is when a person charged with a criminal offence is released from custody while awaiting
their trial. An individual can be released with or without conditions that they must follow during
their release. Not everyone who is charged with a crime receives bail.
The Constitution of Zimbabwe recognizes reasonable bail as a general rule and the denial of bail
as an exception, therefore BAIL IS A HUMAN RIGHT, though not absolute.
When the police lawfully detain an accused person, the decision to grant bail is made by a
magistrate or judge at a bail hearing. These are legal proceedings where the court determines
whether a person should be granted bail or detained in custody until their trial, based on the
considerations set out in the law.
What does the law say about BAIL?
Entitlement to bail is enshrined in section 50(1)(d) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. It states, on
the Rights of arrested and detained persons, that (1) Any person who is arrested (d) must be
released unconditionally or on reasonable conditions, pending a charge or trial, unless there are
compelling reasons justifying their continued detention.