Johnathan Paoli
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.
Speaking ahead of the case, MK convener for the eThekwini region Thulani Gamede, said supporters of MK supported the party because they represented what the people really needed and that despite attempts from others to undermine their progress, MK remained strong and steadfast in its path ahead.
“We know what our people need at the moment, we have done our campaign, we are not scared. We know what our people want, our people want MK,” Gamede said.
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.
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