Terms of Use
Draft for legal review. This text is a plain-English draft and is not yet in force. Items in [square brackets] still need to be filled in.
These terms explain the rules for using Tengisa. By creating an account or posting an ad, you agree to them. Please read them with our Privacy Policy.
1. About Tengisa
Tengisa (tengisa.co.zw) is an online marketplace where people and businesses in Zimbabwe post ads to buy and sell items and services. Tengisa is run by [Company name], registered in Zimbabwe under number [registration number], at [physical address]. In these terms, "we" and "us" mean [Company name], and "you" means anyone who uses Tengisa.
Tengisa is a place to meet. We are not the buyer or seller in any deal, we do not hold money for anyone, and we do not own or inspect the items in ads.
2. Who can use Tengisa
- You must be 18 or older to create an account.
- The details you give us must be true and your own. Use your real name, or your real business name for a business account.
- One person may have one private account. A business may also have one business account.
- If we have suspended or removed your account, you may not open a new one without our permission.
3. Your account
- You log in with a 6-digit code we send to your email. Never share this code with anyone. Tengisa staff will never ask you for it.
- You are responsible for what happens on your account. If you think someone else has used it, choose "Log out on all devices" in your profile and tell us.
- You can delete your account at any time in your profile settings.
4. Posting ads
- Posting an ad is free.
- You may only advertise items you own or have the right to sell, and services you can actually provide.
- Describe the item honestly, including any faults. Prices are shown in US dollars (USD).
- Use real photos of the actual item that you took or have permission to use. Do not copy photos or text from other websites or sellers.
- One item or service per ad. Do not post the same ad more than once.
5. We check every ad before it goes live
Every ad, including its photos, is checked before anyone else can see it. Checks are done by Tengisa's own automated rules, by artificial intelligence (AI) that looks at photos, and by Tengisa staff. Most ads pass in seconds; some are checked by a person. We may:
- approve the ad, ask you to change it, or reject it;
- remove an ad at any time if it breaks these terms or our posting rules;
- add a Tengisa watermark to photos, cover vehicle number plates, and remove hidden location data from photo files.
6. What is not allowed
To keep everyone safe, first contact happens through Tengisa. You must not put any of the following in an ad, its photos, your names or reviews:
- phone numbers, WhatsApp numbers, email addresses, website links or social media handles;
- logos, watermarks or names of other websites or companies in photos;
- requests to move the conversation or payment outside Tengisa.
In a private chat you may share contact details once you have confirmed you understand the risk (see section 7).
You must not advertise or offer:
- anything illegal in Zimbabwe, including drugs, stolen goods and fake or counterfeit products;
- firearms, ammunition, explosives or other weapons;
- protected wildlife or wildlife products, such as ivory, rhino horn or pangolin;
- prescription medicines, or medical products without the required approvals;
- identity documents, fake certificates, licences or number plates;
- foreign currency dealing, loans that need an upfront fee, pyramid or "get rich quick" schemes;
- jobs that ask applicants to pay to apply or to start;
- sexual services or adult content;
- anything else listed in our posting rules.
You must also not harass, threaten, scam or mislead other people, or use Tengisa in a way that harms the site or its users.
7. Talking to buyers and sellers
- Buyers and sellers chat through Tengisa (calls come later in the Tengisa app). Your phone number stays private unless you choose to share it.
- You may share contact details in a chat after confirming you understand the risk. Deals and payments agreed outside Tengisa are at your own risk, and we can't help if something goes wrong.
- Any deal is between the buyer and the seller. Meet in a busy public place, check the item before you pay, and never send a deposit to someone you have not met.
- We may review messages that are reported to us, or that our safety tools flag, to stop scams and abuse.
8. Reviews
- A buyer can review a seller only after the seller marks the item as sold to them, and only if they chatted on Tengisa about it.
- Reviews must be honest and about your own experience. Paid, fake or swapped reviews are not allowed.
- Sellers can reply to a review, but cannot edit or remove it. We remove reviews that break these terms.
9. Your content
You keep ownership of the text and photos you post. You give us permission to show, store, resize, watermark and promote them on Tengisa and in Tengisa's own advertising while your ad is live, and for a reasonable time afterwards in backups.
10. Suspending or ending accounts
If you break these terms or the posting rules, we may remove your ads, pause your account or close it. Each rule break in a 12-month period moves you one step: a warning, then a 7-day pause, then a 30-day pause, then closing the account. Scams and illegal items can lead to closing the account straight away. We tell you why each time. You can appeal each decision once, within 30 days, from your profile; a different person at Tengisa looks at it again.
11. Our responsibility
We work hard to keep Tengisa safe and running, but we cannot promise it will always be available or free of errors. We are not responsible for the items, services or behaviour of buyers and sellers, or for losses from deals made through Tengisa, as far as the law allows. Nothing in these terms takes away your rights under the Consumer Protection Act [Chapter 14:44] or any other law of Zimbabwe.
12. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms as Tengisa grows. If a change is important, we will tell you by email or on the site before it takes effect. If you keep using Tengisa after that, the new terms apply.
13. Law
These terms are governed by the laws of Zimbabwe, and the courts of Zimbabwe can hear any dispute about them.
14. Contact us
[Company name], [physical address]. Email: [hello@tengisa.co.zw]. WhatsApp: [+263 XX XXX XXXX].