MK party leader and former president Jacob Zuma. Photo: EPA-EFE/KIM LUDBROOK
The Durban High Court on Monday dismissed the ANC’s claims that the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party is using its registered name and trademarked logo illegally.
The ANC wanted to stop the MK party from using the name and logo linked to the ANC’s armed wing uMkhonto weSizwe ahead of this year’s elections.
READ MORE: WATCH: Will ANC be happy if MK party is called ‘uMkhonto ka Zuma’? – Mpofu
Judgment was reserved last month and delivered on Monday, where it was dismissed with costs.
MK party co-founder Jabulani Khumalo told media outside court that it was a good day for those who supported the party and former president Jacob Zuma.
“People who support the MK party and Zuma, today we have conquered.”
He said that he was not bothered by opposition to the case.
“Right now our biggest focus is on campaigning and promoting Zuma.”
READ MORE: MK party says it has not ‘fired’ its founder Jabulani Khumalo to make way for Zuma
The ANC previously argued the MK party using the logo and the name is an infringement of the uMkhonto we Sizwe trademark which belongs to them.
It argued trademarks should apply to political parties and not just businesses.
ANC advocate Tshidiso Ramogale said it brought the matter before court to deal with opposition parties using names and logos associated with them without considering the issue of trademarks.
In response, MK party’s lawyers, Dali Mpofu and Muzi Sikhakhane, previously argued the ANC was not the owner of the uMkhonto we Sizwe name and logo.
“They wait for six months and they do nothing and they expect the uMkhonto we Sizwe now to rush a month before the election when they’ve already campaigned due to their laxity. Okay, if we call it uMkhonto full stop, are they going to be happy? Or uMkhonto ka Zuma? Maybe that’s what they want it to be called.
READ MORE: WATCH: Will ANC be happy if MK party is called ‘uMkhonto ka Zuma’? – Mpofu
“It will make no practical difference. So they are here just to waste the courts’ time.
“The reality is they wanted the party to be deregistered and they failed and there’s nothing more your lordship or anybody can do about it.
“The voters on the 29th of May will have their choice and they will not be confused. It’s an insult to our people to think they can be confused between some spear that is facing upward and another,” Mpofu argued.
Additional reporting by Faizel Patel
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