Johnathan Paoli
ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula threw the spanner in the wheels when he said the ruling party will appeal the court’s decision to dismiss its application to challenge the use of the MK trademark.
Earlier, the KwaZulu Natal High Court dismissed with costs the ANC’s application to stop the uMkhonto weSizwe Party from using the name and logo it claimed legally belonged to its disbanded military wing.
The application had been brought by the ANC which argued that the logo and name of “uMkhonto weSizwe” was not only a crucial part of the party’s heritage, but would cause confusion for voters in the upcoming elections.
Mbalula gave a short media briefing after the judgment on Monday, and accused the court of failing to engage with some of the pressing issues related to the matter and said there were several bases on which the ANC could appeal.
The SG, denied claims made by MK advocate Dali Mpofu over jurisdiction issues, and said that since this was a trademark contention, it should be heard in the high court closest to where the party was registered.
Mbalula claimed that the MK party was taking advantage of the exposure granted to the novel party as a result of the litigation, and in line with their initial appeal, they were fighting against Zuma’s opportunism in benefiting from the ANC’s historical legacy in the liberation struggle.
He said that the MK party was attempting to undermine the progress of the ruling party and collapse it ahead of the elections.
“They are throwing a last dice and hoping it will bring the ANC down, and they can do what they want to,” Mbalula said.
The KwaZulu Natal High Court has dismissed with costs the ANC’s application to stop the uMkhonto weSizwe Party from utilising the name and logo it claimed legally belonged to its disbanded military wing.
The court made its ruling on Monday in Durban over an application brought by the ruling party which argued that the logo and name of “uMkhonto weSizwe” was not only a crucial part of the party’s heritage, but would cause confusion for voters in the upcoming elections.
MK party founder Jabulani Khumalo said he was happy with the outcome of the judgment, and that the ruling party’s application was nothing other than an attempt at interrupting the MK’s election campaign programme.
He said that the party remained unstoppable and that it would focus on the elections despite the recent challenges.
Some of the concerns raised in the defence of the MK party was whether section 34(1)(a) of the Trademark Act was applicable to political parties and whether the high court had jurisdiction over a matter that some have argued should have been heard in the Electoral court.
Advocate for the MK Party Dali Mpofu, previously said that the Electoral Court was the correct forum to ventilate the matter as the ANC had already invoked Section 16(2) of the Electoral Commission Act.
The Electoral court recently ruled in favour of Zuma’s eligibility to contest the elections, with the Independent Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) lodging an appeal in the Constitutional Court, contesting the ruling.
The party has grown significant support over the last months, especially in the province, with some observing the novel party as a strong rival to the ANC during the elections.
MK party founder Jabulani Khumalo said he was happy with the outcome of the judgment, and that the ruling party’s application was nothing other than an attempt at interrupting the MK’s election campaign programme.
He said that the party remained unstoppable and that it would focus on the elections despite the recent challenges.
Some of the concerns raised in the defence of the MK party was whether section 34(1)(a) of the Trademark Act was applicable to political parties and whether the high court had jurisdiction over a matter that some have argued should have been heard in the Electoral Court.
READ: High Court dismisses ANC’s trademark case against MK party
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