ANC’s logo dispute ‘dead on arrival’
Former President Jacob Zuma arrived late at the KZN High Court (Durban) yesterday, walking in minutes after ANC lawyers told the court they were seeking an order to force the MKP he leads to change its name and logo.
News24 reports that was his first public appearance after his expulsion from the ANC on Monday for endorsing the opposition party.
Yesterday’s hearing came about after the ANC applied for leave to appeal to the SCA or the KZN High Court (Pietermaritzburg) because the party maintains there are reasonable prospects of success on appeal in the logo dispute.
During the first court dispute over the party logo in late March, the ANC's Advocate Gavin Marriott, argued that the MKP sought to create voter confusion ahead of the 29 May elections.
In that application, the party sought an order compelling the MKP to pay reasonable ‘royalties’ or damages for its use of the logo, which it said looked like the MK ‘heritage and asset’, and to essentially stop the MKP from using the logo at the polls.
At the time, the MKP's Advocate, Dali Mpofu SC, submitted that the ANC did not even own the uMkhonto weSizwe trademark.
As previously reported, Judge Mahendra Chetty ruled in favour of the MKP, dismissing the ANC's application to bar it from using its logo ahead of the polls.
The court also slapped the ANC with a costs order.
However, in an application for leave to appeal in May, the ANC said it wanted an order compelling the MKP to change its name and that Chetty erred in framing the case as one centred on voter confusion at the ballot box.
The matter returned to court yesterday before the same judge and Marriot said the party essentially sought an order compelling the MKP to change its name and logo.
EWN reports that Marriot said the ANC wants the MKP stripped of the right to use the name and logo.
‘Section 19, as we’ve said in the application, does not guarantee the right of every of citizen to form a political party having a name that infringes upon the rights of others and nor does it guarantee the right to campaign. The point we make simply is change the name and you can exercise your section 19 rights.’
However, Mpofu told the judge that the application for leave to appeal was ‘dead on arrival’ and that the ANC's lawyers were trying to argue the case again.
Mpofu put it to Chetty that the court had no jurisdiction in the logo dispute.
‘The matter falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Electoral Court because it self-evidently concerns an electoral matter and a competent decision of the Electoral Commission on the very same causes of action pleaded before this court. The evidence supports this contention.’
He labelled the ANC's application for leave to appeal as ‘utterly hopeless and irredeemable’.
Mpofu added that the matter was not urgent, was not appealable and that the ANC's lawyers should instead bring a fresh application.
Judgment was reserved.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
