administratively (disciplinary charges) or through courts of law been called to account for
their actions.
ARTICLE 6: RIGHTS TO FREEDOM
Article 15(1) and (2) of the Constitution ofUnited Republic provides that, every person
has the right to freedom and to live as a free person, and that for the purpose of
presen,ing this freedom, every individual has a right to live as a free person. The Article
also provides that no person shall be arrested, imprisoned, confined, or detained except
where it is expressly provided by law or where such prohibition is in accordance with a
court order. These constitutional provisions are provided for in various pieces of
legislation in order to give them legal and practical effects.
Arrest and detention both in the pre-trial, post trial and administrative detention are
governed by various laws in Tanzania. Arrest, both by individuals and law enforcement
officials, is governed by the Criminal Procedure Act, 1985. Detention can be done by
Police at pre-trial stages where an accused person or suspect cannot provide reliable
sureties for his bail. In the past years ce11ain officials have been authorized by law to
order people to be detained.
The officials, like the Regional Commissioner and the
District Commissioner could order incarceration of individuals upon being satisfied that
an individual has breached peace or is a security risk.
The nature and length of
incarceration depended on the nature of the offence which the individual was alleged to
have committed. These officials could detain individuals for a specific period of time.
However, some of those who were vested with the power to detain abused it. The time
allowed was either exceeded or an individual could be detained without reasons, which is
required by law. People who committed ordinary crimes were treated as security risks,
thus detained under the Preventive Detention law. The Regional Commissioners Act, and
District Commissioners Acts of 1962, allowed the Commissioners to detain an individual
12