NA TZHC Dar es Salaam24
A housewife's domestic contributions entitle her to a share in matrimonial property, and the appellant is legally entitled to the house in Mtwara.
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- NA TZHC Dar es Salaam24
- Parties
- Appellant: Ainabu Mussa; Respondent: Mohamed Said
- Court
- TZHC
- Jurisdiction
- Tanzania
- Judgment Date
- 1 January 1983
- Procedural Posture
- Matrimonial Appeal / Second Appeal (high Court)
- Outcome
- appeal allowed with costs
- Legal Topics
- Division of Matrimonial Property, Contribution of Housewife, Matrimonial Assets
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Ainabu Mussa
Appellant
Mohamed Said
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Matrimonial Appeal / Second Appeal (high Court)
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the appellant, as a housewife, is entitled to a share in the matrimonial property despite not making direct financial contributions
- 2 Whether the lower courts erred in denying the appellant a share in the houses
Ratio Decidendi
A housewife's domestic contributions entitle her to a share in matrimonial property, and the appellant is legally entitled to the house in Mtwara.
Court Disposition
appeal allowed with costs
Orders
- Appellant is given the house in Mtwara
- Household properties listed as exhibit A to be divided equally between the parties
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
1 paragraphs
• IN THG HIGH COJ1:tr OF TAiJ,~iil·lIA • (D~ :SS SAL1u\H JLSTHICT R.'"DGLSTRY) ,~Ail'~ABU MUSSA ...........YP.E:LLANT v..;;m;us MOHAN.6D SAID O O O O C O O O O R:~SPOND~NT JUOOluNT Appellant and respondent were husband and wife. On the petition of the a~~ellant wife the marriage was dissolved by Kinondoni Primary Court after subsisting for about 14 years. After pronouncing the divorce the court o:~dered that as her share of the property jointly acquired by the parties 1 respondent should be paid shs. 500,000/= and take all household articles, Apart from the household items, the matrimonial property consisted. of two houses, one in Dar es Salaam and the other one in Mtwa.ra. There is also a motor vehicle maka T0yota Land Cruiser. Appellant being not ' satisfie~ with the order of the trial court sh~ decided to appeal to the District Court. She filed the present appeal after the District Court upheld tr."' order of the trial court.. 1 • In substance, appellant submitted two grou.."lds ?f appeal. In the first ground she faults the learned District Magistrate for upholding the argument of the trial court that the appellant has made no contribution in acquiring the matrimonial ,~sets because she was a mere housewife. I respectfully share her complaint. The holding of the both lower conrtA is not in harmony with the celebrated decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of _?j._~If~"!.~.Moh_¥Jed ~~!..j~)'~~~-~!~, CivaApp.no. 9/1983 which, among other things, ·held that even it a house is built a'lJ;e efforts of the husband, still the wife has a share in it provided she was performing the usual domestic duties of a housewifeo Thus in the present case appellant is entitled to a share in the two houses hence her claim that she should be given the house in Mtwara is legally founded. :t accordingly uphold the said Hctlm. In view of this finding, the other ground of appeal is ~ rendered unimportant. In conclusion this appeal is allowed with costs. Of the two houses, appellant is given the house in Mh,a:c-a. C ~ The sundry household properties a,, listed ·and produced in Court as i:xh · A· are to be divided equally between the partieso The motor vehicle is to be retained , . by the respondent. ~ I ·,._:.,~\\,,c . H.A ;~r.tStJM!' '·'- . . JUDGE. n-· """ t