Q&A – 28 Mar 2011
Sexual relations with a pupil
I am a businessman and have been sexually involved with a student of a certain secondary school. Last year in December the father found out about our relationship and the girl actually confessed that we have been going out for two years and that she loves me. Surprisingly I was arrested by the Police and have been charged with rape. I have never raped the girl- infact the girl confesses that she consented to the sexual relation. I have a feeling that the police and magistrate have been compromised. What should I do?
FF, Morogoro
Due to the increased number of female students who drop out of school due to pregnancy and older men taking advantage of young girls, the law is plain and clear in that it is illegal to have sexual relations with a pupil who is a girl who is in primary or secondary school or any girl who is below the age of 18. Any men having sexual relations with a pupil or a girl below 18 years of age will be guilty of rape regardless of the fact that she consented to it or not. The presumption of the law is that such a girl is not capable of understanding the situation and is incapable of consenting to sexual relations. We hence agree with the police and magistrate. Should you be convicted, be prepared to spend some time in jail.
Courier company standard terms
I used a leading courier company to forward my passport to an embassy based out of Tanzania. The courier package apparently got lost and I got delayed in applying for my student visa and hence have lost a year of studies. I subsequently applied for a new passport and am reapplying for my visa. The courier company manager told me that their standard carriage terms limit their liability to refunding me the amounts I paid. He showed me the document which is very tightly worded. What can I do?
LJ, Dar
The courier company cannot limit its liability the way it seems to be indicating You entered into a contract with it to deliver your passport to the embassy. The express term of the contract was for delivery to take place for which you paid an amount. And since the delivery is not done, the courier company is in breach of its obligations.
It seems like you never saw the standard carriage terms when you couriered your pack; and even if you did, there is a breach and you do have a cause of action to proceed against the courier company. Unfortunately many people think that anything nicely typed and printed is mistake free and standard. That is not the case. You need not give up- your attorney can guide you further after reading the standard trading terms and understanding the entire matter.
Neighbour shop competing with me
I have a shop on a main road in Arusha. For the past 20 years, my neighbor and I stuck to our agreement that he shall not sell products similar to mine. He recently migrated and sold his shop. The new owner signed a similar contract but has started selling goods exactly like mine. I intend to take action against him- please advice.
LW, Arusha
Much as we would like to side with you, we find the contract with your new neighbor to be in restraint of trade. Contracts in restraint of trade are contracts where one of the parties restricts his or her future freedom to carry on his or her trade or business with others, usually by way of a covenant. This contract of yours may also be held to be anti competitive and in breach of the fair competition act in Tanzania.
Other similar contracts that we have seen in the market place are those between employers and employees, especially expatriate employees, where the employee signs a contract with the employer that he will not work for any competitor so long as his current employer is in business! This again has been held to be in restraint of trade.
Unfortunately we do not see how you will manage to get this contract enforced. It is likely that your contract will be held to be illegal- you may however seek further legal advice.
Non-payment of insurance premium
My motor vehicle insurance was automatically renewed by my broker. There was however no intimation that the premium had not been paid. As usual, now that I have a claim, the insurance company is refusing to pay it as I have not paid the premium, although I have a sticker. The premium amount is less than Tsh 1M, whereas the claim is for nearly Tsh 20M. I agreed with the insurance company that they should pay me the difference but to my utmost surprise they have refused. What should I do?
LK, Lindi
The simplest answer to your question on what you should do is to make sure you pay your premiums on time when you renew your insurance. The global insurance principles and the law here are all very clear- non payment of premium renders the insurance void. It does not matter that you have a sticker. The sticker does not automatically mean you have a valid contract of insurance. We agree with the insurance company that no claim is payable to you.
On a different note, if the insurance companies would ‘offset’ premiums with claims the way you have suggested, it would beat the principles of insurance. Simply put, insurance companies collect premiums in advance, and hope to pay less to the claimants then the amounts they collect. This is called an underwriting surplus. The other way insurance companies make money is by investing the premium in various ventures and this is called investment income. Your proposal of the offset actually cuts out one of the most fundamental income streams of insurance companies.
Unless the insurance company pays you on ex gratia basis, this claim is not payable