The Supreme Court has dismissed a bid for freedom by Jefat Chaganda, an accused in the theft of gold worth US$970,007.80 from a police station exhibit room, ruling that his continued detention is lawful despite the collapse of his initial trial.
Chaganda is facing charges of stealing 28.5 kilogrammes of gold valued at US$970,007.80 from Plumtree Police Station, where it was being kept as an exhibit.
The case, one of the most significant gold-related prosecutions in recent years, has drawn attention due to the scale of the alleged theft and the legal twists that followed.
In a judgment delivered by Justice George Chiweshe sitting with Justices Susan Mavangira and Joseph Musakwa, the court dismissed Chaganda's appeal against a High Court decision that threw out his urgent application for habeas corpus.
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"The appellant was detained on the basis of a warrant of arrest... For as long as the warrant remained valid and extant, the appellant's detention... was lawful," the court ruled.
Chaganda had argued that his incarceration at Khami Prison was illegal after his trial was set aside following the death of one of the assessors, insisting there was no legal basis to keep him in custody pending a fresh trial.
But the Supreme Court rejected that argument, stating that the termination of proceedings did not wipe away the charges.
"The death of one of the assessors did not and could not, of its own accord, extinguish the charges... which charges remained extant pending trial de novo," the court found.
The judges said the law is clear when a criminal trial collapses midstream.
"An accused person who is not on bail shall remain in custody, unless subsequently granted bail... and may be tried again on the same charges," the ruling said.
The case took a dramatic turn after Chaganda, who had initially been on bail, allegedly failed to attend court in June 2023, prompting the issuance of a warrant of arrest. His bail was subsequently revoked, changing his legal status.
"Whilst the appellant was on bail all along, he ceased to be on bail once the warrant of arrest was issued," the court said.
Chaganda had relied on provisions of the Prisons and Correctional Services Act to argue that he was being held without lawful authority. However, the court dismissed that claim.
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"This argument puts the cart before the horse," the judges said, adding that prison authorities could not release a detainee without a court-issued warrant of liberation.
"The second respondent could not have released the appellant in the absence of an order or warrant... authorising his release," the judgment stated.
The court further noted that Chaganda had not even applied for bail after the proceedings were set aside, weakening his claim for immediate release.
"It is common cause that the appellant did not apply for bail... the gist of the appellant's application was not for bail but for habeas corpus," the court said.
While the Supreme Court upheld the dismissal of his application for release, it partially allowed the appeal by striking down a section of the High Court order that had directed prosecutors to indict him for a fresh trial, ruling that the lower court had granted relief that was not sought.
Despite that limited success, the ruling keeps Chaganda behind bars as he awaits a fresh trial over the disappearance of gold worth nearly US$1 million.
