LRF lawyer Ngulube Anderson made a habeas corpus application in the Livingstone High Court asking the court to release the three since the state had failed to prosecute them. The application was not heard, instead it was agreed the three would be tried in August session, failing which the habeas corpus application would proceed. In essence, an application for habeas corpus aims at challenging the legality of a person's detention or continued detention in custody. Once it is determined that the detention is illegal, the court makes an order for the release of the detained person. Failure by the state to prosecute a person who is charged with non-bailable offence, renders the continued detention of such a person illegal.
Every person is entitled to a speedy trial.
It cannot be said three years is a reasonable time for anyone to wait before being tried. In a criminal cause, an application for habeas corpus does not automatically result in the release of the accused person, but may result in the trial of that person. It may also lead to the granting of bail then if the offence is non-bailable, Ngulube said. Zondani Simalongwe was brutally beaten by Constable Zulu of Siavonga Police Station after his employer a Mr Mpungula accused him of having stolen K750, 000. Simalongwe was Mpungula's houseboy.