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Donald s/o Musa v. Tutilo s/o Yonathan, (PC) Civ. App. 100-D-66; -/5/67; Saidi, J.



Donald s/o Musa v. Tutilo s/o Yonathan, (PC) Civ. App. 100-D-66; -/5/67; Saidi, J. 

A member of the Wakuguru tribe of Kilosa didd: he was survived by four wives and twenty children. Plaintiff, one of his sons, brought an action to recover possession of several cattle which had been taken by the nephew of the deceased . The nephew the son of the deceased’s sister, had acted as administrator of the estate and guardian of the widows and children, according to an established custom of the Wakuguru, a matrilineal tribe. He had claimed the cattle as “family property” i.e., inherited  by deceased from the family, not acquired by his own efforts – after dividing the other cattle among the other heirs.

Possession of the boat. The remainder of the purchase price was to be paid within one month. Plaintiff paid Shs. 700/- over the next several months but left his home in Zanzibar at the time of the revolution with Shs. 300/- of the purchase price still due. Defendant made diligent attempts to find plaintiff but was unable to do so. In February 1965, he took possession of the boat, which had been left on a beach of Zanzibar, upon the authorization of the Area Commissioner. It was necessary for him to make repairs before the boat could be sailed back to his home in Bagamoyo.

            Held: (1) In these circumstances defendant was justified in seizing the boat, for plaintiff had not honored the agreement (2) If defendant is to surrender possession of the boat to plaintiff, as he is willing to do, he should be paid the remainder of the purchase price and compensated for the necessary repairs. (3) The trial court erred in awarding plaintiff damages for the profits defendant earned while in possession of the boat.

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