Q&A – 20 August 2018
Court order to monitor wife’s phone
I want to be able to monitor my wife’s phone calls and movement. How can I achieve this? If she enters into a contract with me can I enforce it? Or should I get a Court order to force her to do so? Please guide me.
UT, Dar
We are not sure why you want to monitor your wife so much. She is your wife not your asset.
We opine that even if your wife enters into such an agreement with you, it is likelier than not that it will be an illegal arrangement and the agreement can be declared void ab initio meaning that it did not have legal effect from the beginning.
We are not sure what basis you will get a Court order on. What will you tell the Court- that you want to sue your wife and ensure that she is monitored by you 24 hours a day seven days a week? What reasons will you provide to invade her privacy and personal space?
You might need the help of a marriage counsellor not a lawyer. We hope your marriage survives should you attempt to do any of the above.
Restaurant using too much oil
I frequently visit a restaurant that uses all kind of fats to make the food taste better. Is there no law that prevents restaurants acting in such an unethical manner. No wonder home food does not taste that good as it is healthier. What can I do to stop this kind of cooking?
YU, Dar
To the best of our knowledge, there is no law we have heard of anywhere that is a guide to chefs on how much fat they can use when cooking. Generally it is true that the greasier the food, the tastier it is!
Having no such law in place, so long as the restaurant is not using any expired or banned ingredients, we do not see how you can stop the restaurant from serving such food. Perhaps you simply stop going there!
Having said that, in other countries, it is now mandatory to post on the menu how many calories one is eating for a particular portion of food. This has greatly helped some states reduce the obesity pandemic which is currently being witnessed. Perhaps if you lobby hard enough, this could become a requirement in Tanzania. At the moment it isn’t.
Telling your criminal lawyer the truth
I am charged with a criminal offence and am wondering whether I should tell my lawyer the truth? What if the lawyer refuses to defend me after hearing me? What are the lawyer’s duties to me as his client?
PL, Dar
There is what you call an Attorney Client privilege whereby your lawyer cannot disclose any information relating to an offence you have committed. It may not fully apply to an offence you are about to commit.
Whilst lawyers might be employed by you, they are still officers of the Court, and therefore cannot lie or misguide the Court. Hence if your lawyer knows you are guilty of an offence, the first thing he must do is tell you to plead guilty to that offence, unless there are factors that your lawyer can legally use to mitigate the offence or its consequences. For example if your lawyer lies in Court, he can be held for perjury ie knowing falsity, and may face imprisonment or be barred from practicing law.
Your lawyer can attack the prosecution’s evidence and can come up with arguments that may be less than rock solid, so long as they are reasonably supported by the evidence. The lawyer cannot offer your testimony knowing it to be false and you will see in many trials the accused does not testify, which however does not create a good impression on the presiding judge.
You must appreciate that every attorney is going to be different in what he/she wants to know, and things will vary based on the specific case, Court, and gravity of the charges. As a general rule, you should never lie to your attorney as this will ultimately backfire.
Lastly, after hearing the trust, the lawyer has a right to discontinue to represent you. He however cannot testify against you in Court.
Imprisoning a company
Our company has been charged with a certain offence which is punishable by imprisonment. How can a company be imprisoned?
TU, Dar
We are unsure what statute you are talking about but as some statutes specifically provide for the directors or senior officers to be imprisoned. However if there is no such explicitly provision, then the Interpretation of Laws Act has the answer.
Section 71(3) states that except where otherwise expressly provided, where the penalty prescribed in a written law in respect of an offence does not consist of or include a fine, the Court before which the offence is tried may, in the case of a body corporate, impose a fine–
(a) where a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months is prescribed, a fine of TZS 2M; (b) where a term of imprisonment exceeding six months but not exceeding one year is prescribed, a fine of TZS 3M; (c) where a term of imprisonment exceeding one year but not exceeding two years is prescribed, a fine of TZS 5M; (d) where a term of imprisonment exceeding three years is prescribed, a fine of TZS 10M.
Hence in the absence of anything contrary in the law under which you are charged, the imprisonment of a body corporate is to be substituted with a fine as above.