Herman v. Ndava (PC) Civ. App. 2-A-70; 1/3/71; Kwikima Ag. J.

 

Herman v. Ndava (PC) Civ. App. 2-A-70; 1/3/71; Kwikima Ag. J.

The appellant was ordered to pay Shs. 250/- damages to the respondent by the District Court for defamation of character. The claim was brought under Chagga Customary Law and the facts were admitted by the appellant in the Primary Court were the respondent had been awarded Shs. 500/- damages. The District Court reduced damages to Shs. 250/= and commented while doing so: “According to the Chagga customary law, if somebody abused a name of another person, compensation is one goat and one cow or Shs. 250/-           

            Held: (1) “Unless Chagga custom varies from village to village, I cannot but disagree with this observation. This same court noted in two recent cases that the customary damages were one goat for a commoner and one fattened goat (Ndafu) for a chief. In the absence of evidence to show that the custom in fact varies from one part of Chaggaland to another, I cannot accept the comment as the correct statement of the law. Accordingly the respondent is to receive Shs. 50/- or one goat.” (20 “As the institution of the chief has long become an anachronism, I presume the respondent will have to be content with a mere goat and not necessarily a fattened one (Ndafu)”.