‘The liberation army can’t be stolen’- Solly Mapaila takes shots at MK party

South African Communist Party (SACP) Secretary General Solly Mapaila has taken fresh shots at the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, claiming it had “stolen” the identity of the ANC liberation army and it would not allow it.

The ANC has taken the MK party to court for using the name and logo linked to its armed wing ahead of this year’s elections. The matter was dismissed by the Durban High Court last week, but the ANC said it intends to appeal.

Speaking at a Worker’s Day rally in Cape Town on Wednesday, Mapaila shaded the MK party and said its actions would not be tolerated.

ALSO READ: IEC calls for probe into alleged forgery of signatures by MK party

Greeting leaders of the armed wing’s veterans league, Mapaila said: “Yes, the glorious people’s army. Not the stolen identity that is now in the courts”.

“The history of our liberation army cannot be stolen by any individual. We will never allow that,” he added.

Watch Mapaila’s address below.

‘The real MK liberation war veterans’

In an address before ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa and other Tripartite Alliance partners, he called for supporters to vote for the ruling party in this month’s elections.

Ramaphosa also took a dig at the party championed by his predecessor Jacob Zuma, starting his address by heralding the “real MK liberation war veterans”.

uMkhonto ka 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.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Will ANC be happy if MK party is called ‘uMkhonto ka Zuma’? – Mpofu

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.

“It will make no practical difference. So they are here just to waste the courts’ time.

Additional reporting by Faizel Patel