APPRAISAL OF THE COURT OF APPEAL’s DECISION IN ATTORNEY GENERAL v. REBECA Z. GYUMI

Abstract

The Court of Appeal of Tanzania delivered on 15th October, 2019, an important decision in the Attorney General v Rebeca Z. Gyumi that section 13 and 17 of the Law of Marriage Act, 1971(LMA) are unconstitutional for being discriminatory on the minimum
age of marriage between girls and boys. The decision was gloriously received and praised by commentators and activists as a victory against the long lived struggle against child marriage in Tanzania. Nonetheless, the unconstitutionality of the impugned
provisions and the practicability of the Court’s decision under the socio-economic settings of Tanzania may be contested. This case note examines the unconstitutionality of the disputed provisions and the practicability of the Court’s decision under the socioeconomic setting of Tanzania.