Second chance with old girlfriend

I had a girlfriend whom I loved and genuinely thought would marry. Unfortunately, things did not work out and she eventually married another man in an Islamic marriage. Lucky for me, their marriage did not last long and the Court granted them a divorce three weeks ago. I have already approached her and she seems open to giving our relationship another chance. Can I marry her immediately? With the current situations I don’t want to take a chance and wait too long.

JM, Dar es Salaam

Your enthusiasm is understandable. However, before you start wedding arrangements, there are two legal issues worth considering. First, a divorce decree does not necessarily dissolve a marriage on the very day it is pronounced. Under section 112(1) of the Law of Marriage Act (the Act), a decree of divorce ordinarily dissolves the marital status of the parties 30 days from the date of the decree, provided that no appeal or notice of appeal has been filed within that period. Where there is an appeal, the marriage generally remains until the appeal is finally determined or the applicable appeal period expires. Therefore, if the decree you are referring to was granted only 3 weeks ago, you should not automatically assume that your former girlfriend is already legally free to remarry.

There is also another important qualification because you tell us that her previous marriage was contracted in Islamic form. Section 112(3) provides a special rule where a divorce is granted pursuant to section 107(3) of the Act: unless the Court directs otherwise, the marriage is deemed to have been dissolved from the date when the dissolution would have taken effect in accordance with Islamic law. You should therefore first establish the nature of the divorce decree and the date upon which her previous marriage legally became dissolved.

Even after establishing that the previous marriage has been dissolved, section 38(1)(j) of the Act provides that a ceremony purporting to be a marriage is a nullity where the woman was previously divorced or widowed, her previous marriage was contracted in Islamic form, and she contracts another marriage during the customary period of iddat. Therefore, the fact that you may intend to marry her in a Christian, civil or other form does not allow you to bypass the iddat arising from her previous Islamic marriage. Iddat is about 3 months but your lawyer can guide you further. Hence do not merely rush and do your research properly.

Stranger got my number from visitor book

I recently visited an office building in Dar where I was required to enter my personal details in a registration book. There was a man waiting behind me who was the next person to register. Later that evening, I received a WhatsApp message from him saying that he had noticed me at the entrance, found me attractive and wanted to get to know me. When I asked how he got my telephone number, he told me that when it was his turn to register, my details were immediately above where he was writing and he simply copied my number. Is the building management allowed to keep visitor information in this manner under Tanzania’s laws?

MN, Dar es Salaam

Your admirer may have been very resourceful, but a visitor registration book should certainly not become a dating directory.

Under the Personal Data Protection Act, information such as your name, telephone number and identification details constitute personal data. There may be perfectly legitimate reasons for the management of a building to collect certain information from visitors, particularly for security and access control purposes. The problem is not necessarily the existence of the visitor book itself, but the manner in which the personal data contained in it is collected and protected.

The Act requires personal data to be collected for a lawful, specified purpose and protected by reasonable security safeguards against risks including unauthorized access, use and disclosure. Further, the Personal Data Protection Regulations, 2023 require a data controller to limit the personal data collected to what is necessary for the intended purpose. This means that building management should consider whether it genuinely needs your personal details merely for you to enter the premises and, where such information is necessary, how it will be protected from persons who have no reason to access it. In the circumstances, reasonable data protection measures should therefore address not only deliberate disclosure by employees but also whether the system itself unnecessarily enables one visitor to access another visitor’s personal information.

If you believe your personal data has been improperly handled, you may lodge a complaint with the Personal Data Protection Commission.

Wife shopping on my credit

I am married and recently had an argument with my wife about household expenses. I told her that she spends too much and that I would not give her any more money until next month. To my surprise, she went to a supermarket where I am well known and bought food and other household necessities on credit, telling them to put everything on my account because I am her husband. The supermarket has now called me demanding payment. I never authorized these purchases and told them that if they trusted my wife, they should collect their money from her. My wife is laughing and says I should read the Law of Marriage Act before refusing to pay. Is this legally right?

JN, Arusha

Section 64 of the Law of Marriage Act, provides that, subject to certain conditions, a wife is presumed to have authority to pledge her husband’s credit, borrow money in his name, use his money in her possession or control and even convert his movable property into money, so far as this is required to purchase necessaries for herself and the children of the marriage appropriate to the husband’s means and way of life.

However, this is not an unlimited shopping licence. The presumption applies only in circumstances specified by the Act, including where the spouses are living together and certain situations involving separation, desertion or failure to pay agreed maintenance. The husband may also rebut the presumption by showing, amongst other things, that the wife already had sufficient maintenance or means, already had enough of the goods purchased, or that the purchases were excessive or extravagant having regard to his means. Therefore, whether you are liable will depend on what she purchased and the surrounding circumstances. Ordinary food and genuine household necessities are quite different from using your name to acquire expensive handbags or jewellery.