Clement Malale vs Mary Andrea ((PC) Civil Appeal No. 92 of 1996) [1999] TZHC 447 (26 July 1999)

I· 4f-c__ S'o-vi~ I IN J !llGH COURT OF TMf.JIIA ' ; !.T Mhlt..NlA fJ>PELLNl'E JURISDICTION (MwanzaRegistry) (PC) CIVIL 1\PPE/iL ro. 92 OF 1996 (From the decision of the District· Curt 'bf Magu.:: Ditrict at Magu in Civil Appeal No. ,4, of 1996 Before M.G.Mzunga., Esq., Resident .Magistrate and Ur ·Primary court Mwanza Original Civil crase N~·. 201 · of·.1995) CIB!11E?ll' MtJ:Ja.LE ":• ••• • •• • •••••••••••••• • •••• • •• • •• l'.PPELLANT Versus: .MJ\RY' :i.NDREA • D ••• :. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ••• ••• • • • •.• • • .. •• . 'RESPOIDEN:r JUDGEME1""T. MROrn. 1 J • .. The 'appellant Cl.ement Malale sued 'the respondent Mary Andrea· in the rban. -Pr'imary. Cdurt' of. Mwanza, Mwanza District, for redovery of clothes .he boght for the respondent and ·for their childrel\ a rei'rigeratcir· a ·metres.a, a bed ana· cash shs.200,000/-~ .. · The trial primary court gave judgement. f c:,; the a:ppel.lant in ·so far as all the ·1 temEi concerned except fQr the ... oa.sh sha.200.000/-.- -'Ph&· respondent was--ardered--to return 'the ·said items to:the,·appellant. Th:i.s decision was not accepted .by the ~ . . . ,, . respondent.Mary who appealed against that judgement and orde~ to.the .district court of Mwanza; Mwanza District. The appellate district court · •-· .(Mzuna,· RM) was of the view that since the appellant had bought .the said . , items .by virtue- of the appellant* s. child who was begotten -from the respondent · c.onsequent upon cohabitation between the piμ-ties it w~, . therefore, inconceivable that the appellant was claiming for the returning of the sai<i · properties. He accordingly : ~eversed the.:,primary co'jjrt• s dec:i,_sion and gave judgement· to .the .responden:,t-<;lefemant.. • This . ''.decision, in turn, upset the appelJ ,.nt-plaintiff, hence the present· appeal.

2 At the hearing of this appeal. th~ appellant was present but not the respondent, though the latter was served. Despite the fact that the respondent . decided not to be present, I was satisfied, nevertheless, that . " ' .. , ) . . . . the circums_tances o:t' the proceedings were such that no occasion of justice will result if ·the app~¥·:;proceeded to pe heard ex .. parte at her a.bsence. Appellant ·did not have a more· plausable · reason to substantiate . ~ t~: . . . . ' . • his appeal than his., general. assrtion .. that . the· respondri.t was not entitled , to possess the items in dispute beca1:4s~. ap:peilant did not buy them for her . . . '· . . .. ~ ,' ' . . . but for their childe I have gone through the grounds of his appeal and I observe nothing contentio:w in any of , the .grounds that needs the labouring of my ndnd. If the appellant J:J.ad read the judgement of the warne.d · • .. . ,..t -- .... ~ . "·· Resi,d_ent Magistrate, Mr. Mzuna., properly and reflecting it to the evidence , . , , : . hav adducd at the trial I have no doubt that he (appellant) would/been . :: ,... ' .' -. - satisfied with fhat. ju,dgement ... The .Magistate corre_ctly obser:ve_d that if . the appellt• s . cl was that he ,bought the disputed i terns for their baby . ' .. . ,.,. ' ,•· ' . ' . . child, and as there was ample evidnce tha, th,e cWl.d was livi:rg with his mother, it_ was .hte;ore irato~-' 1 if_ no~ ~μrd, on_ he part of the appellant: to __ turn round and start to · claim for the propnrty against the ,-.z:espondent. · · Besides,' I have not located sinything from the. evidence· that ··shows that there was·any.agreement between the parties.that appellant bought the · things because of their begotten child outside the appellant• s ·wedlock. , . .- · It· is-- common· ground that appellant was m_arrled -co another ·woman. other than ' . the respondente. He knew that by asscdating with t ·!'e.gjondent sexually, illicit,' though,the resultant effe.ct-·w,,uld most pr,c,bablylwhat happened and that ·is by causing· the responde:pt to ::onceive 0 · Common sense· .does· not need • J • ' ~ confirmation that such se:,rual/social interractions between appellant and _. respondent needed a bed and a ma.tre,.? 3• And the product of their. sexual interractions- also needed facilitL: like a bed:. mi!l,tress and clothing 0

3

r. • The cohabitation of the pair (appellant and resporrlent, did not begin :]' , . , • • r,• • ' .' : • ..,1 • • , • • • .'• • .• •, I • I ; •. ;, '\ ••. ... :. • ' • ~ f ( '. ' ~ fran the blue sky, there . inust. be a root· cause·, . om of. which is . not~ -·', .•' ' . .··,•,', .. • . ', .. ,' .. ·-- .... : .. \•. ', ... , ... ...,.: :,··;· .... ; . ' :;.·. '' .-· .. - disassociated with material things which most men use to woo the· · · opposite:· ex t accomplish: :thir. s~ lt. The- appellant is. tiituation here ·could. 'not' be ;aia:' to be·. exep.tional: 'as there .·could n6t be a better '.·-explanation as how the respondent could have ·been ambi'ouhl.y: solicited by the appell;allt to cohabit,. with her from 1990 to 1994 when he problem _, •• •• • • • • ,• • • • a'' ,, betwee tm- - .up ..... Tbee- rpμ$t he. en- strong arrangment. . '" ' . . ' . . ' .. . .· ' ·- between the parties which went to the axtent·-ofking ·· the respondent to conceive a child through their cohabitation. · It must have been due . . . . to that intimacy. relationship which conv:Lnced -the appellant.to .bey: .clotp.es for the respoment and including---the domestic. items, e.g·.: · 0 th~ small . ',,., ., ~ -ai1d'. ~ .r84io. 'llliere is nothing in the evidene that revealB buy . that appellant was. involuntarily caused to l. · for the resp?ndent the items .. he is now el.aimi'llg. tb :re~~ver: fran the respondent' It ·is apparettt from the record that the relationship between the parties went ¥under n 1994 ' . ' . '. "'. · . because both the parties lost their employment with their respective employer. ·But before' thi mishc;ip_. too place 't~ appellant, had never .. . . . ' ', thought·-of---el~ the property from tbe respondent. I am unable to : ·~ '.. . categorize the a1·1ged property given as gift& by the appellant to the · whther or not respondent,ls·:~ form of consideration upon an agreement that the resporrlent

• ' . was also obliged.'. to perform what she was required to do in the interest of the appellant. There is no evidence that shows or tends to show that the respondent had contracted to marry the appellant, hence the reason for the gifts, and th.at the ruspondent failed to honour the promise. In my view 1 the buying of the domestic articles by the appellant for the respondent were actuated or attracted not for any reason but because of appellant•s cohabitation with the respondent as his paramour and, as such, that is Volenti _pom fit irtj.uria - ;=1ppellant cannot now cry over spilt milk, he desired 8%1.¢" welcomed those circ1 nstances himself• And. 1 in any case, since the appellant does not stay , ,i th the born child ( a son) the respondent

4 'f is.entitled to. stay with the things for use of the child whatever is J ;. ~ .:,_ .. ;;, J' ::u . ,Q ,l,~~4.';1 •. .fC,c"'.: 1.. t,t -;,. r• ~ Li·'· .. · ➔ •: , r•j•·· .... ·"- , .• ,. • ,, .. • ,._ _,o f .. o l • ,• .., ..,. -- ...... __ .. -· necessary for him. It. sotims, i'idieuloua on the part of the appellant · ... :!!;: U_;"- .. }.·' t', ·' .1r .l :-,;,Q4, I"::, ,.,1: •. ::· .... ; ~~ ... t.:t ... • .... :.C"!-:... '. 'T t I:- ... r - .• ~ • .I ·. :. : ... ➔ ••••. to. cla!m. the return of the said things when_ himself has not shown how ,'.,-11,t ;tLi,.j£t_ .#I.,. ~ 6-o ilr,f 'f1 ~ .I ·1.•; J :~~,\ •• ,., • : ,:!!" !' •.., ~ , . .&. 'f• .. • ,; .. ... "\ • , """ • .,.,..,., -'-••., .U,. -.,,. ,I '-'.J r,.,.;(..> ..I, ·,.: -'.l ·i-;:,· ~~ istind:¥-.Jl~~ .. J~\l. being ~lC~~) __ of hf':• clth;,¾3;- s1ri to ,,wbe,. μnder_ th. ctody of he mother, l: - ••. L ••. , ... '.·' .,J J. , n..,,._. :. .• .• · ·· t;v., :fi .·.,. --- -.!:i ., r •., ,_. :--: :-, l .·. _ .w 't r:.:;li.•.:: "in:·umt'roc "the· fofegbing'reai3'6ns·· i'- dismis" the "appa:i:.,..:·r make n'o 0 di'd~~"•as· t?'b'6st~ 'l:>eoause 'the· resp6ndent•refused•'t•o 'appear.-. ?·· AT MWOOA: ., ',, ,. .:t A.· c. MREMA .. ,r t!J.. . ..-.r .. Ol~.t L-:1 .. J '\UL~.. .:s~- ·t ',. JUDGE ..;:J...J"! ..:,u .• : ,1.;..•r,' r..t..'- .. :.'T.C .. ,i}"I,}•.;.. 'f L.t • f• '_,,, -' ' JUDGE . 26/7/99. · .. r, :t·::,, ,1 , • ., fl..,,Q~ l. · j~,·t ,..,:, li..• .... ___ . ·