Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC): When the High Court on 22 July 2022 delivered its landmark ruling on police “sweeping exercises,” it did more than condemn unlawful arrests; it issued a clear directive for reform. The Court recognised that rogue and vagabond laws were being misused to justify arbitrary arrest. The Court gave the State and Parliament 24 months to review the relevant provisions of the Penal Code. That deadline has long passed. Yet today, the same laws remain in force, and the same policing practices continue.

The case, which stemmed from the arrest of individuals in Kasungu during a nighttime police sweep, exposed how people engaged in ordinary activities, working, trading, or socialising, were detained without explanation and pressured into pleading guilty.

In response, the Court underscored that such practices violate fundamental constitutional rights, including dignity, liberty, and freedom of movement. It also highlighted how vague offences are used to target people without evidence of actual wrongdoing. But crucially, the Court went further: it recognised that the problem was not only policing practice, but the law itself.

By directing a review of the Penal Code, the Court made clear that lasting change required legislative reform, not just adjustments in police conduct. Parliament, through its Legal Affairs Committee, considered the issue and approved a report calling for the review of the Penal Code provisions that enable these arrests. The matter was referred to the Ministry of Justice, through the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, to draft the necessary amendments. But years later, there has been no visible legislative reform. No amendment bill has been tabled. No revised legal framework has been enacted. In effect, the responsibility to act has stalled within the Executive.

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