Money to girlfriend

I recently saw a message trending in social media alerting married men to report to the police all women, other than their wives, who will beg for money from them. I want to report one of my girlfriends who is on my neck requiring me to give her money for a new mobile phone. She is troublesome with a string of requirements and it is not easy to maintain her. Is giving money to a woman other than your wife a crime?
KJ, Dar

It seems like you have asked for this trouble. We also saw that message purporting to originate from a leader. There is no law, at least for now, which prohibits men from giving money to women who are not their wives. We don’t also think that our lawmakers will enact such an absurd law in the future.

Enacting such a prohibitive law will be against public policy as a man will be barred to support even his aging mother or female relatives amongst others. We think the message was aimed at cautioning unchaste men who spend a big chunk of their income on sexual improprieties in total disregard of their families’ welfare.

Whilst it is not illegal to give money or a present to your girlfriend, you might want to make sure that your family’s welfare is taken care of. Such promiscuous behavior is immoral but not illegal and you may want to reconsider having a girlfriend in the first place as it is not fair on your wife and family. It would be interesting to see how you react if your wife had a boyfriend.

Home for street dogs and cats

A few years back I saw a foreign woman in trouble with the Temeke Municipal authorities who claimed that the woman was keeping hundreds of dogs and cats in her house in Dar es Salaam. I heard that woman defending herself that she was running that animal caring house legitimately with all support of the Ministry responsible for animals’ welfare. Advise me on the legality of a caring house for animals.
AR, Kigamboni

The foreign woman was justified to run an animal sanctuary. The Animal Welfare Act, 2008 (the Act) requires the local government authority to establish or allow the private sector and or civil society organisation, on application, to establish in their respective areas of jurisdiction animal rescue centers, hospice and sanctuary to care for injured or orphaned animals. Thus, as per section 28(2) of the Act, a local government, an individual or a civil society organisation can make such an application to the Animal Welfare Advisory Council (the Council) to seek permission for establishment of the animal caring houses or hospices.

The law further states that injured, orphaned or diseased animals which are found straying or ownerless shall be taken to the animal sanctuary or hospices established as rescue centers for treatment and care after which they may be returned to the owner upon claiming or adopted by any new owner after recovery. Of course, the owners or the adopters of the animal are obliged to reimburse the expenses which the sanctuary center had incurred in treating or up keeping respective animals.

Prophet has taken my house

I am a widow and out of misery I attached myself to a religious ministry. The “man of God” prophesied that the problems I was experiencing were founded in the house which I inherited from my late husband. He prophesied during one congregation that unless I sell that house, I will not live longer than a year. Out of that belief, I consulted him after the congregation and he advised me to sell the house to him on the pretext that he was full of the Holy Spirit to withstand the demons occupying the house. I sold the house at a throw away price and am now renting a two room apartment while the prophet is enjoying life in my spacious mansion. I have stopped going to that church and want to sue the fake prophet so as to get my house back. A lawyer told me that it is impossible to get the house back as I signed a contract of sale and got paid. Please guide me.
ST, Dar

The lawyer misdirected you as the contract for sale of house you entered into with this so-called prophet is voidable in that it was induced by undue influence. Undue influence occurs where the relationship subsisting between the parties is such that one of the parties is in a position to dominate the will of the other and uses that position to obtain an unfair advantage over the other.

A person is deemed to be in a position to dominate the will of another where she or he holds a real or apparent authority over the other or where she or he stands in a fiduciary relation to the other. For the claim of inducement by undue influence to stand, one has to prove that indeed a party held a real or apparent authority over her or him and that through that inducement a strong person obtained unfair advantage. Fortunately, spiritual leaders are unambiguously known to have apparent authority over their followers.

In your case, the fake prophet apparently held authority over you as you believed in what he purported to foresee that you would die in a year unless you sell the house which was a source of your misfortunes. Yet he bought the house at a throw away price and for that matter he benefited from his fake prophecy. We advise you to look for a good lawyer to take the matter to Court as we are convinced that you have a good case against the ‘prophet’.