CAPE TOWN – The City of Cape Town has suffered a double legal defeat in its dispute with the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA), with the Western Cape High Court ruling twice in favour of the minstrel community’s right to celebrate their traditional Tweede Nuwe Jaar festivities.
The latest victory came on New Year’s Eve when the court granted the CTMCA’s application to compel the City to comply with an earlier court order, despite the municipality’s appeal against the original December 29 ruling.
The CTMCA’s legal representative, Junaid Jumat, explained that his clients successfully applied under Section 18(3) of the Superior Courts Act to force compliance with the existing judgement.
“We successfully brought forward this application last night around 9pm, where we received judgement on 31 December 2025,” Jumat told VOC News. “We asked the court to enforce the current order as it stands, and the court granted our application, and again, we got costs against the City.”
The court’s ruling means the City must provide appropriate venues for the minstrel community’s cultural traditions, regardless of their ongoing appeal.
The legal confrontation began when the City suddenly withdrew permission for the CTMCA to use Vygieskraal Stadium for their traditional competition, despite having previously granted approval. The association’s application for a 3 January street parade was also rejected, even though they had been working with municipal officials to meet documentation requirements.
The minstrel association emphasised that this battle extends beyond administrative procedures, touching on fundamental constitutional rights to cultural expression and heritage preservation.
Following their second court success, the CTMCA called it a “historic victory in the fight for culture, preservation and community rights” and “a testament to the power of community and preserving cultural heritage.”
Jumat appealed to the City: “We employ the City of Cape Town to come to the party and assist our client with the plight to celebrate their heritage and tradition in line with the Constitution of South Africa.”
City defends position and clarifies separate events
The City emphasised that the official Tweede Nuwe Jaar Festival organised by the Kaapse Klopse Karnival Association remains unaffected and will proceed as planned on Monday, 5 January.
The municipality stressed this official celebration is “a completely separate event not to be confused with the court application brought by a different minstrel organisation – the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association.”
The official festival will see around 20,000 performers march from Chiappini Street along the 1.2km stretch of Somerset Road before heading into the stadium. The City described the funding allocated to minstrel events as its “single largest investment in events overall.”
The City revealed it has formally offered to help the CTMCA with Athlone Stadium on available mid-week dates in January and a weekend in February, subject to compliance with applicable legislation and permitting processes.
The municipality defended its position, stating that as early as September, it informed the CTMCA that no stadium venues were available during January weekends, as they were either already booked by other associations or unsuitable for medium-risk events as classified by SAPS.
“December-January is the busiest time of the year for events, and bookings are made many months, even more than a year in advance,” the City explained, adding that the CTMCA “did not act timeously to secure a venue.”
Appeal continues despite court orders
On January 2, the City filed an appeal against the High Court order, arguing that the court “expects the impossible: to provide a venue that simply isn’t available on the dates requested.”
Despite the ongoing legal dispute, the official Tweede Nuwe Jaar parade will proceed as scheduled, with free public access to the street celebrations.
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