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| Faulty mosquito coils |
| Tanzania has many products that are fake which shamefully includes malarial tablets. I have now realised that the mosquito coils that we burn around our houses to keep mosquitoes away are also fake. I have been using a particular brand for many years and in the last few months have changed to this new mosquito coil brand which has resulted in 3 bouts of malaria for my children. I decided to take this to a chemistry student at the University of Dar es Salaam who ran some tests and concluded that two key ingredients that are the major causes of making the mosquitoes runaway were missing in these mosquito coils. That means I have been using fake mosquito coils and no wonder we have contracted malaria so many times. What should I do as I bought these from a small duka nearby? |
| OI, Moshi |
Just because you have bought these from the duka does not mean that you cannot sue the manufacturer and/or the importer. You can sue as we show below.
Manufacturer’s liability is a legal concept or doctrine that holds manufacturers or sellers responsible, or liable, for harm caused by defective products sold to consumers. Manufacturer’s liability is usually determined on any of three bases. The first is negligence, which is the failure to exercise reasonable care to prevent product defects arising out of the manufacturing process, or which is the failure to give consumers appropriate warning of a danger attending the use of a manufactured product. Secondly for breach of warranty, which entails failure to fulfill the terms of a claim or promise concerning the quality or performance of a particular product, and lastly strict liability, in which a seller or manufacturer can be held liable for a defective product even if the conditions of negligence or |
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breach of warranty do not apply. Hence your lawyer can guide you on how to proceed with institution of the suit.
Furthermore, the quality of products into the country related to such mosquito coils falls under the Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (“TFDA”) who also authorises the importation of these. TFDA also has laboratory services and you can report these fake coils to the TFDA who have very wide powers and are known to be, when such instances reported to them, very strict. All such coils may be seized by TFDA and we encourage you to report this so that others are not affected by these fake mosquito coils. |
| Assignment of Trademark |
| I own a certain trademark which is picking up pace in the market. I am approached by foreign nationals who want to use my trademark and have requested me to sell it to them. I do not wish to sell my trademark. Can I give these companies my trademark on lease so that I still continue to own it and can enjoy it after the lease is over? Please guide. |
| LY, Mwanza |
| It is a good thought and the Trade and Services Marks Act provides that the proprietor of a trademark can assign the use of the mark to another person. Note that assignment must be registered with the Registrar of trademarks. The assignment is not a very complicated process and your attorneys can guide you further. |
| Traditional marriage conversion |
| My fiancée and I are Christians but my fiancée wants us to undergo traditional marriage before we marry in Church. Is this possible? What are the consequences of this? Is traditional marriage valid in Tanzania? |
| WK, Arusha |
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The Law of Marriage Acts recognizes customary, religious and civil marriages. Customary marriages are what you refer |
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as a traditional marriage; religious marriages are marriages falling under a particular religion i.e. Islamic, Christian, Hindu etc; Civil marriages are marriages which are conducted by the government officials who are authorized to marry persons.
Tanzania recognizes traditional marriages and they have the same status like every other marriage ie either religious or civil. You have to understand that, customary marriages are considered to be potentially polygamous hence he may marry more than one wife and you hence may not be the only one. The Law of Marriage Act provides that, a marriage contracted in Tanganyika may be converted, if the husband has one wife only, from potentially polygamous to monogamous, by a declaration made by the husband and the wife, that they each, of their own free will, agree to the conversion. This declaration shall be made in the presence of a Judge, a resident magistrate or a district magistrate and shall be recorded in writing, signed by the husband and the wife and the person before whom it is made, at the time of making.
You have to note that, no marriage shall be converted from monogamous to potentially polygamous or from potentially polygamous to monogamous otherwise than by a declaration as stipulated above. Hence should you marry under traditional marriage, you must convert the marriage into monogamous marriage as above and then you can proceed to marry again in Church provided that he doesn’t have another wife because the conversion to monogamous won’t be legal if he has more than one wife.
If by you marry under Christian marriage while he has another wife, the Christian marriage will not be legal as the customary marriage will override the Christian marriage. We suggest you ask him why he wants to start with a customary marriage first. We also advise that both of you seek the services of a marriage expert. |
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| This column is intended to give you a general over view of
the Law. It is not a substitute
to the role of your legal advisor. If you
have legal issues, you are strongly recommended
to contact your Attorney. |
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