DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 23 -- IN many Tanzanian neighbourhoods, danger rarely announces itself loudly. It hides in the small things like a loose balcony rail, a wet supermarket floor, an uncovered pit in a rental compound even exposed wiring in a bar then an accident happens, someone is injured and immediately the question rises quietly at first, then urgently: Who is responsible?

That question is not emotional. It is legal. And Tanzanian law answers it through The Occupiers Liability Act, 1968 (Act No 64 of 1968).

This Act is not concerned with dramatic wrongdoing. It is concerned with everyday spaces, the places we enter with permission, expecting reasonable safety. To understand how the law works, we must begin with the space itself. Wha...