The South African Communist Party (SACP) said it will join the African National Congress (ANC) in the appeal against the high court judgment on the use of the name and logo of uMkhonto weSizwe (MK).
It said it was one of the founders of MK in 1961 as the military wing of the ANC.
The SACP said on Tuesday it wants to protect the heritage and legacy of MK, adding that they would not allow another party to take the name of MK and use it for their own agenda.
The MK party, led by former president Jacob Zuma, won the legal dispute on the trademark in the High Court in Durban.
But ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said they will appeal the judgment as they believe the judge came to a wrong conclusion when it comes to the issue of the name and logo.
The SACP said it would be party to the appeal to be filed by the ANC.
“The SACP supports the ANC’s intention to and will form part of the appeal against the high court ruling delivered in Durban on April 22, against the use of uMkhonto weSizwe’s (MK’s) name and trademark by a third party. The SACP deposed an affidavit in the case as part of the original MK founding organisations.
“’Together as allies, the ANC and the SACP founded the original MK in 1961 as the people’s liberation army, under the leadership of the ANC within the framework of our revolutionary alliance, as opposed to an opportunist electoral party premised on a factional, divisive and counter-revolutionary agenda,” said the SACP.
The ANC and the MK party have been involved in two legal disputes with the MK party over the last few months.
The MK party won the first court case on its registration. It has won the second one on the trademark.
MK party founder Jabulani Khumalo has called on the ANC to forget about pursuing the case any further as they want to focus on the elections.
He said the ANC has not been able to get any judgment in their favour.
However, the MK party is facing another challenge in court after the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) appealed the judgment of the Electoral Court that Zuma can contest the elections.
This is after he was convicted and sentenced to 15 months in jail by the apex court.
The IEC said it wants clarity on the matter.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@iol.co.za
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