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IN THE EIGU COURT OP TANZANIA AT IvII3EYA CIVIL APPEAL NO. 6 OP 19 80 BEP9.iiAKIHAB i; DISTRICDMAGISA I OBEDI MJAFONGO . . . . , , . . . • APPELLANP / Versus 2 NICODEMU NUSYANI ..RPG1DNT J ,- J1JJJGNT SANATTh, 3., - In 1979 the appellant successfully sued the respondent in the primary court of I'iasebe for a refund of dowry - the sum of shs 13001= - he had allegedly paid when he got married to the latter's daughter. The respondent claimed that the sum of shs. 9001= only had been received byhim. This assertion was rejected by the trial court4 The respondent was agLeved by the decision the court arrived at. He appealed against it to the district court of Rune district. There he was partly successful. Although the district court affirmed the primary court's finding that the amount of dowry paid was shs. 13001=, it was of the view that there should be a rebate of shs. 400/=. It varied the primary court's decision accordingly. The appellant thinks the district :court was not - justified to come to this decision; hence the present appeal. I think the appeal must be dismissed. The marriage in question subsisted for a period of abot fourteen years. The wife gave birth once, but unfortunate1y, it was a still—birth. It would also appear from the evidence which was laid in the sc.les that the appellant did not adequately maintain his wife when he away in Zambia This factor seems to have

contributed towards the breakdown of the marriage. Bearing in mind these facts, I think it was unjus. for the pimary court not to ordar some rebate, it should always be remembered, L think, that when a daugh -ter 1 s father , recei4ies a. dowry he does not do so for the purpose of acting as. a.. custodian. in relation to the amount received., . The respondent's assr±ion tha: he had r?oeived only .shs. 9 001= was, as found by both cOurts below, tenuous. It was not supportd even by his own witness, one AronKayabe. The evidence of this witness greatly supported the ppellant's assertion that the dowry amounted to . shs, 13 00/=. I am not suprised that. soon after the witness had finished giving his testimony the respondent told the court this: . 2 - Ninakubali kuwa nixaeshindwa The appeal stands dismissed with the usual consequences, S B. A. SAMATTA JUDGE. I' A typed out copy of this jud.nent be forwarded to the district court which is hereby directed to read the same to the parties.. B.ASTh J JUDGE.