A Compulsory Research Report Submitted to Mzumbe University – Mbeya Campus College in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for an Award of the Bachelor Degree of Laws (LL. B) Of Mzumbe University
This report reviews on the law relating to division of matrimonial property in polygamous marriage with the primary focus on whether the law protects co-wives’ property rights upon dissolution of marriage. The law governing division of matrimonial property under section 114 of the LMA appears to confine itself on division of matrimonial property in cases of monogamous marriage without taking into account the fact that polygamous marriage are legal marriages recognized in Tanzania. For the court to grant the order of division of matrimonial property of spouses, the court must have dissolved the marriage through the decree of divorce. In polygamous marriage where there is more than one wife, on divorce of one wife, normally the court orders matrimonial property division without taking into account the other wife/wives who remains in marriage, and hence leads into injustice to the remaining wife/wives as their share is not considered in that matrimonial property. This is due to the provision of section 105 of the LMA which disallows a non-divorcing co-wife from being party to the divorce proceedings. This report has recommended for the removal of section 105 of LMA and provided for a proposed section 114 of the LMA and how it should be read for the consideration of the property rights of the co-wife/wives remaining in marriage after the divorce of their fellow wife.