- 19 Section 5 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (2015) provides that:
“A suspect or defendant may not be handcuffed or otherwise bound or be
subjected to restraint except:
(a) There is reasonable apprehension of violence or an attempt to escape;
(b) The restraint is considered necessary for the safety of the suspect or
defendant; or
(c) By order of a court.
Applying the above provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act
(2015), it is apparent that a suspect may be validly handcuffed if the
circumstance warrants it without falling foul of Article 5 of the African
Charter or other similar international instruments.
7.10. The Plaintiff is urging this court to hold that the defendants are in
violation of his right to human dignity by handcuffing him,threatening to shoot
him and making him sleep on bare floor. These assertions are facts within the
Plaintiffs knowledge.
7.11. As stated herein above, it is the general rule of evidence that the burden of
proof of facts rests on him who alleges the existence of those facts and who will
fail if no evidence is led in proof.
7.12. The rule that proof rests on he who asserts the affirmative and not on he
who denies is an ancient rule founded on the consideration of common sense
and should not be departed from without strong reasons. The burden of proof
and persuasion is therefore placed on the plaintiff. Mere saying that he was
subjected to such treatment does not suffice. There has to be some form of
evidence either oral or documentary (eg. photographs, eye witness reports,
expert evidence, medical certificate, etc.) to substantiate his claim,
notwithstanding the fact that the arrest is undisputed.
7.13. As we found supra, the Plaintiff did not file a Reply controverting the
allegations and specifically the denials contained in the defense. Thus, the
denials by the defendant stand unrebutted and unrefuted.
According to the Plaintiff, he was arrested and taken to the detention center
together with his friend, and he did not bother to call that friend to corroborate
any of his allegations; neither did he lead any evidence in support of these
allegations which were denied by the defendant. The Plaintiff also did not offer
any scintilla of evidence to prove the injury he allegedly suffered to his head