In love with mother-in-law

I am a 35 year old man and my mother-in-law is a 40 year old woman. Over time we have become very close and comfortable with each other. I now want to leave my wife so I can marry her mother. I have heard that incest is a criminal offence in Tanzania. Will divorcing my wife and marrying my mother-in-law or having relations with her get me in trouble with the law? Please advise.
JW, Morogoro

We have been responding to questions from the public for over a decade. However, nothing has baffled us like the question you have asked.

Strictly speaking, the law prohibiting incest does not include relations with in laws. The Penal Code [Cap.16 R.E. 2022] (the Penal Code) provides that having sexual relations with one’s family relations such as mother, daughter, sister or grandmother is strictly prohibited. Section 158(1) of the Penal Code provides that any male person who has prohibited sexual intercourse with a female person, who is to his knowledge his granddaughter, daughter, sister or mother, commits the offence of incest. Based on the above you will not be committing incest.

Much as having a relationship with your mother-in-law will not amount to incest, you cannot legally marry your mother-in-law as such type of relation is prohibited under the Law of Marriage Act [Cap. 29 R.E. 2019].  Section 14(2) of this law states that no person shall marry the grandparent or parent, child or grandchild of his or her spouse or former spouse. Further section 149 states that any person who is a party to a ceremony purporting to be in marriage where the parties are within the prohibited relationships shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years. Hence if you proceed to marry your mother-in-law, both you and your mother-in-law, and anyone else who participates in such a marriage ceremony, will go to jail for up to 2 years.

We recommend that you seek professional help or other relevant therapy. Your counsellor or lawyer can guide you further.

Promise to marry legally binding

I am a woman aged 37 living in Dodoma. In January 2024, a man I was courting for over 3 years and who continually kept promising me that we will get married, left me for another woman. I invested a considerable amount of my savings in his business and also helped with his household chores. My support of him was only because he promised to marry me, otherwise I would not have supported him. I want to report him to the police for misleading me. Please advise if it is a criminal offence in Tanzania for a man who promises to marry a woman to later back out of his promise.
MJ, Dodoma

Unfortunately, there is no such criminal offence in the Tanzanian Penal Code. However, section 69(1) of the Law of Marriage Act [Cap. 29 R.E. 2019] (LMA) provides that a suit may be brought for damages for the breach of a promise of marriage made in Tanzania whether the breach occurred in Tanzania or elsewhere, by the aggrieved party, provided that (a) no suit shall be brought against a party who, at the time of the promise, was below the age of 18 years; (b) no damages shall be awarded in any such action in excess of loss actually suffered as a result of expenditure incurred as a direct result of the promise.

Further, a suit may similarly be brought in respect of the breach of a promise of marriage made in any other country but only if such an action would lie under the law of that country as well as under the LMA. Note that the law does not permit suits for specific performance of a promise of marriage i.e. to force one party to marry another. Be mindful that there is also a time limitation. Section 70 of the LMA provides that, notwithstanding the provisions of any law regulating limitation of actions for the time being in force, no suit shall be brought for damages for the breach of a promise of marriage more than 1 year after the date of the breach.

If you believe that you had a contract with your then-partner, you can sue him in civil proceedings for recovery of sums that you have invested in his business; especially if it was clear that you were only investing in his business and providing him with funds because he promised to marry you. We are sorry for what you are going through and we wish you all the best. Your lawyer can guide you further.

Reference to documents not annexed to pleadings

We instituted a suit in one of the Courts in the city. Unfortunately, we lost the case because we were denied to refer to certain documents. According to the Court, these documents were neither mentioned nor attached in the pleadings.  We are a bit confused about this. Why did the Court deny our right to be heard?
BM, Mbeya

We are sorry to hear about your loss. Since we do not have all the facts of your case, we will confine our advice to the pleadings. In simple terms, a pleading is a formal written document that states the reasons for bringing a legal action against someone else. Pleadings are essential in a civil suit as they explain the facts of the case; the cause of action; prayers and evidence relied upon by the parties. It is a cardinal principle of pleadings that the parties to the suit should always adhere to what is contained in their pleadings unless an amendment is permitted by the Court. The rationale behind this proposition is to bring the parties to understand the issues in dispute and not to take the other party by surprise. Any party seeking to make reference to any document not pleaded and/ or annexed to the pleadings must seek  the Court’s leave to amend the pleadings so as to enable him make reference thereto. This legal position has been expounded in a number of decisions of the Court of Appeal of Tanzania and it is therefore settled law in Tanzania. You may want to ask your lawyer for further advice.