Number of dependents to repatriate

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We have retrenched some employees in our company, some of whom have written to us requesting for transport allowance for themselves and their children to their home villages. What does the law say on how many family members and relatives can be repatriated and paid for by the employer?
EL, Mbeya 

Section 43 of the Employment and Labour Relations Act imposes an obligation on the employer to repatriate the employee, upon termination, from the place of work to the place of recruitment and not to the employee’s home village or town. Normally the place of recruitment is shown in the contract but if it is not shown in the contract, the place of solicitation of the employment is taken to be the place of recruitment.

The law requires the employer to repatriate the employee with her/his personal belongings and not with the family, though we have observed that it is a practice in many private organisations to repatriate an employee with their belongings together with one spouse and up to a maximum of 4 dependents. However, this is just a practice and not the law. The employer pays the employee transport allowance which is equal to a bus fare to the bus station nearest to the place of recruitment or she/he can transport the employee by using a company’s car. Many employers who know that the employee is not going to be actually going back to the place of recruitment offer the company car to go ‘drop’ the employee and his family.

Sexual favour for contract

I am employed by a manufacturing company as an account clerk with a two years’ contract expiring in December, 2021. According to the contract, if I want to renew the contract for another term, I am supposed to write a letter of request for renewal at least 2 months before the expiration of the contract. One week ago I wrote a letter to the General Manager expressing my desire to have the contract renewed in December. My boss, who is a lady, solicited me to have sexual intercourse with her if I want her to renew my contract. Is this not rape? To secure my job, can I agree to her desire and after getting renewal of the contract report this matter to the police as rape?
KD, Morogoro 

Section 130 of the Penal Code [Cap.16 R.E 2019] which creates the offence of rape does not recognise rape by a woman. Only a male person can rape a woman or a girl. A woman cannot rape a man or a boy. It is an act of rape if a man who is in an official position and takes advantage of his official position or authority to force or solicit a woman or girl to have sexual intercourse with him. The Penal Code does not cover a woman who takes the advantage of her official position to solicit or force a man to have sexual intercourse with her as a pre-condition for appointment or promotion or renewal of a contract of employment.

However, having said the above, a man or a woman who solicits or demands sexual intercourse with another as a pre-condition for exercising his/her official powers in favour of the victim, commits a corruption offence called demanding or soliciting sexual favour contrary to section 25 of the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Act [Cap.329 R.E 2019]. Therefore, the only law that can be used to prosecute a lady boss who uses her position to solicit or demand sexual favour from a man as a pre-condition for her to exercise her official power in favour of the victim, is the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Act.

A male person who is solicited or coerced by a lady boss to have sexual intercourse with the lady as a pre-condition for getting any official right or privilege, may report the incident to the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau for investigation and prosecution. We urge you to report this incident of sexual solicitation to PCCB before you incline to the solicitation from your lady boss. If you succumb to her sexual demand and later report to PCCB, such delay may lower your credibility and make the Court treat you as an unreliable witness, especially in the circumstances.

Registering a SIM card for a friend

My friend has asked me to register a SIM card for him by using my National ID because he has no National ID card or NIDA number for use to register a SIM Card in his name. I would like to know if it is legally acceptable to register a SIM Card for someone.
LK, Mwanza

Regulation 4(4) of the Electronic and Postal Communications (SIM Card Registration) Regulations, 2020 (GN No.112/2020) strictly prohibits using someone’s National ID card to register a SIM card. Only a minor is allowed to register a SIM card by using a National ID card of his/her parent or guardian.

The way we understand the law, it is an offence to use someone else’s National ID card to register a SIM card because doing so will amount to impersonating the bearer of the card. We don’t recommend registering a SIM card for a friend because should a friend commit an offence, you will be traced, arrested and prosecuted for an offence you have never committed and you might have a difficult time to escape conviction. You are aware that a good number of crimes are nowadays committed directly or indirectly using SIM cards and hence move with caution.