MK Party members celebrated the victory outside Durban High Court on Monday. | Tumi Pakkies Independent Newspapers
Durban — The ANC has vowed to fight to keep its uMkhonto WeSizwe brand to the bitter end. Speaking outside Durban High Court on Monday after losing the trademark case against uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), KwaZulu-Natal ANC spokesperson Mafika Mndebele said the party would appeal against the judgment. He accused former president Jacob Zuma of expropriating the ANC’s property without compensation.
Mndebele was quick to say their appeal was not about winning the case only but was based on principle so that the next generations would know that the ANC fought for its brand to the bitter end.
“We respect the judgment as we always do as the ANC, but we must say that we are appealing this decision. We will stop at the Constitutional Court. It is not only about winning to keep our historical brand but also about principle.
“We need to make a statement that a certain man stole our brand, but we fought to keep it because generations will ask what did the ANC do about it,” said Mndebele.
He added that if Zuma felt he was popular he could have named his party after himself or called it the Gupta Party, but he decided to use the ANC brand for his benefit.
This was the ANC’s argument in court when the matter was heard last month. It had argued that allowing the MKP to use the name and logo would confuse an average voter, thinking voting for the MKP also meant voting for the ANC.
However, the court said it was not satisfied that the ANC had made out a case for the injunctive or consequential relief sought, adding that it failed to establish a clear right for the final relief, either to the name or to the use of the registered mark.
In the 41-page judgment, the court also agreed with the MKP on the issue of res judicata (jurisdiction) that the matter was supposed to be heard by the Electoral Court.
“In light of the conclusion, I have reached on the issues of lack of urgency, absence of jurisdiction, and non-suiting the ANC in this court as well as finding on the merits of the matter, the application falls to be dismissed,” read the judgment.
On the issue of punitive cost which was requested by the MKP, the judge said while the application might be misguided he did not find that it was frivolous or reckless, saying he found no justification for punitive cost.
The judge (Judge Chetty) said he was satisfied that costs on a party and at a party scale suffice.
The judgment was read within a minute of the sitting and sparked jubilation among the MKP leaders, who shouted MK! MK!
The ANC leadership was conspicuously absent.
The party had sent advocate Kwazi Mshengu (former KwaZulu-Natal education MEC) to take the judgment. Even outside the court, ANC supporters were nowhere to be seen except Mndebele who came late to provide a party reaction to the judgment to the media.
Reacting to the judgment, the MKP’s national commander Jabulani Khumalo who registered the party, said that the judgment was a relief and a major boost for the attainment of a two-thirds majority.
Khumalo said it also brought relief since the party will now focus on campaigning for the upcoming elections.
Also reacting to the judgment was political analyst Professor Musa Xulu, who said that he did not think that there was a person in South Africa who would not associate the uMkhonto weSizwe with the ANC.
He said there was a technicality because it was known that the MK name and the logo had been associated with the ANC since December 16, 1961.
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