Q&A – 10 August 2015
Suing my husband
I am a famous model married to a man who has always been very careless and unsupportive towards me. Infact this carelessness led burns on my body when my husband negligently opened the shower when I was standing below it and the hot water poured on me. I am now being dumped by my model agency as I am not as presentable. I have had enough of this and want to sue my husband. My lawyer thinks that I cannot. I fail to understand why I should not? Guide me.
EE, Dar
The Law of Marriage Act states in section 65 that as from the commencement of this Act- (a) no husband shall be liable for the torts of his wife by reason only of his being her husband; (b) a husband and wife shall have the same liability in tort towards each other as if they were unmarried.
In short you can proceed to sue your husband under tort principles.
To prove this case against your husband you have to ask yourself the following question. 1.Did your husband owe the you a duty of care?
We answer that yes. 2. Did your husband breach the required standard of care?
From the facts it seems so. 3. Did you suffer damage?
We answer that in the affirmative. 4. And lastly was the damage caused by the breach of duty by the defendant?
It seems so.
All in all, we believe you have a valid claim against your husband.
However, we recommend that you first talk this out with your husband as suing will automatically lead to serious issues in your marriage.
You can even appoint a third party to assist resolve your dispute.
Law governing dress code in Tanzania
I have secured a contract with a large company for a position in Tanzania and wish to know if there is a law governing dress code. I am informed that there are very strict laws on what to wear, for example women are forbidden to wear trousers. Is that correct? Is it legal to get drunk in Tanzania?
DT, Europe
There is a no specific law which dictates the public on what to wear.
Traditions and customs in Tanzania requires people to dress in a decent manner, as is the case in most other jurisdictions.
There however are code of conducts in some workplaces where guidelines on dress code are given.
For instance, public servants have their own guidelines on dress code and cannot wear short or tight skirts, see through dresses, baggy musician type pants, jeans to mentioned a few.
The same applies to learning institutions and religious institutions. There is no law that we are aware of that disallows you to wear trousers in Tanzania.
Since you are joining a company here, your local staff can further guide you on the dos and dont’s of dressing.
As for drinking and getting drunk, our research shows that getting drunk is not an offence but what you do when youget drunk is.
For example driving, boarding a plane, and perhaps even walking a street where you may cause an accident are offences.
On the other hand, for public servants, code of ethics and conduct for the public service dictates that out of office, an employee will conduct his/her personal life in such a manner that it does not affect his/her services or bring the Public Service into disrepute.
He/she is therefore required to refrain from becoming drunk, using narcotic drugs and any other unacceptable behaviour.
Killing a wild animal in defence
I was travelling upcountry from Dar and stopped at a bush where my colleague had to go for a short call. Unfortunately out of nowhere a buffalo was close to attack my friend. I shot the buffalo and it disappeared in the bush. We could have easily run away but unfortunately decided to make a report about the incident with the wildlife officers whose office was in a nearby town. We gave our statement and left our contact details. Strangely last week I received a call from one of the officers who says that the buffalo was found dead hence we are supposed to pay a large sum of fine or else we shall be
charged in a court of law for more offences? We feel we are not responsible and all we did was to protect our lives. Please guide.
GT, Arusha
Section 73 of the Wildlife conservation Act, Act No 5 of 2009 makes it clear that it shall not be an offence to kill any animal in defence of human life or livestock.
However the section is not applicable to the killing of an animal in defence of life if first the behavior of the animal necessitating such killing is the result of molestation or deliberate provocation by or with the knowledge of the person killing such animal; or the person killing such animal or the person whose life is being defended was, when such defense became necessary, committing an act which constitutes an offence under the Act.
Also the Act does not allow the use of stakes in pitfalls, snare or of any other method which is likely to result in undue cruelty to animals or to endanger human life.
It is further a requirement that the section shall be inapplicable where the owner or occupier of any property adjoining any conservation area to hunt in such area without the previous consent in writing of the appropriate officer of such conservation area or where the killing of any national game was without the written authority of the Director previously sought and obtained.
More requirements in such situations are also put to the effect that a person killing an animal in defence of life shall immediately remove from such animal any skin, ivory, horn, tooth or any other trophy and report the fact and the circumstances of such killing to the nearest officer and hand over to such officer any trophy removed from such animal, which trophy shall be the property of the Government.
Furthermore, where required by such officer, the person who killed the animal shall show the officer damage caused and the place of such killing.
We think whatever is done by the said officer is likely to be for his own interest as the circumstances you have explained shows no offence has been committed.
We think this should be reported to his superior.