Following a devastating defeat in the electoral court, the ANC is looking to redeem itself when it faces off with uMkhonto weSizwe party in the Durban High Court.
The electoral court dismissed the ANC’s application to have the registration of MK by the IEC nullified but the shot unanimously dismissed the application.
The ANC had scheduled a media briefing for Monday, postponed it to Tuesday and then postponed it to a yet to be announced date shortly after the devastating blow by the electoral court delivered in the Johannesburg High Court.
The party said in a statement that it had a strong argument against the IEC and did not indicate if it will appeal the judgement which essentially clears the way for MK to contest in the upcoming elections.
“We therefore find that there’s nothing unlawful about the registration of MK by the DCEO on 7 September 2023” ,said the electoral court in the judgement.
The MK believes the legal challenge by the ANC is part of a desperate attempt by an increasingly unpopular liberation movement to hold on to power but the ANC denies this saying it is not threatened by the Jacob Zuma led party.
“We are not opposed to the party’s presence on the ballot, provided the registration process conducted by the IEC was in accordance with the law,” said the ANC in a statement.
In Durban on Wednesday the ruling party is expected to argue that the name MK and its logo are part of its heritage and therefore their usage by the new political party constitutes intellectual property violation.
“The ANC strongly objects to the use of our Umkhonto we Sizwe ( MK) logo and name by this party, and we will be addressing this issue in the High Court in Durban.
The MK logo and name is the heritage and intellectual property of the ANC, we will not allow counter-revolutionaries to hijack our movement for their personal gain, said the ANC.
Meanwhile the MK party said Tuesday’s defeat of the ANC was the first of many to come.
“They wanted to use the courts to prevent us from contesting elections but they failed, we beat them and we are going to do so again in Durban then finish them off on 29 May”, said founder and party Commander Jabulani Khumalo outside court.