Range Chacha v. Elias Nyirabu, (PC) Civil Application 24-M-66; 24/4/67; Platt, J

Range Chacha v. Elias Nyirabu, (PC) Civil Application 24-M-66; 24/4/67; Platt, J

Plaintiff was divorced by his wife, and there was evidence that she had deserted him for another man whom she later married. Plaintiff sued her father for the return of cattle given as bride wealth, in the Nyamwanga Primary Court. The Primary and District Courts came to differing conclusions as to the number of cattle originally given, and as to the number which had been repaid by the defendant. The Primary Court, finding that six of thirty – eight cattle were as yet unreturned, ordered the return of only two, on the grounds that the marriage had lasted four years and a child had been born. The District Court ordered full repayment of the bride wealth, because the divorce had been “due to the fault of the wife”.

            Held: (1) Under Paragraph 58 of the Local Customary Law (Declaration) Order of 1963, “where a divorce was due entirely to the fault of the wife, no divorce can be granted unless the full bride price is repaid.” (2) Although the defendant might have been as much as “a month out of time in lodging his appeal” to the High Court, he had produced evidence that he was sick during that time, and the application would therefore be allowed. (3) The record was remitted to the District Court for further evidence on the issue of the number of cattle originally given.

            The court stated, Obiter; “(A) s the appellant has already been paid bride price a second time on the second marriage of daughter, it would only be fair that he should make full restitution of the bride price paid on the occasion of the first marriage.”

            Held: As was found by the assessors in both courts below, “inheritance in this tribe is traced through maternal uncles and this is exactly what had taken place in this case.” Citing Vol 11, Kilosa District Rules 71 and page 6 of File No. 1/3/C/1 Provincial Office, Eastern Province (from the Archives).