The Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) will be taking to the streets in the Mother City.
The Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) will be taking to the streets in the Mother City as the legal battle over the Kaapse Klopse Karnival intensifies.
The CTMCA insists the competition cannot be postponed beyond this weekend.
Legal battle
A legal battle over the venue for the CTMCA’s 2026 competition appears far from over, with the City launching a second appeal, just days before the parade is expected to kick off.
The minstrel competition is a separate event from the official Tweede Nuwe Jaar parade set to be held in Green Point on Monday, 5 January 2025.
Late-night ruling
In a late-night ruling on Wednesday, the Western Cape High Court again ordered the City of Cape Town to comply with a previous court directive, requiring the city to identify a suitable alternative to the Kaapse Klopse Karnival from 1 January 2026 at its own expense.
In the judgment, Judge James Lekhuleni reiterated that the city must make a suitable venue available for the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association’s event. This is despite the city’s appeal against the original ruling.
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Another appeal
The City has now filed another court appeal against CTMCA regarding an event application for the use of Vygieskraal Stadium.
City of Cape Town spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said the city filed another appeal on Friday to be heard by a full bench of the high court.
“The city has offered to assist the CTMCA with available dates for Athlone Stadium and awaits provisional bookings and permit applications in this respect.
“The City has since formally offered to help the CTMCA with Athlone stadium on available mid-week dates in January and a weekend in February. This offer is, of course, subject to CTMA duly complying with applicable legislation, including those laws that regulate the event permitting process and doing business with the City.”
‘No other venues’
Tyhalibongo added that no other venues are available on the dates requested by the CTMCA in January.
“On 2 January, the City also filed an appeal to a related High Court order, which expects the impossible: to provide a venue that simply isn’t available on the dates requested.”
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The way forward
The CTMCA’s lawyer, Junaid Jumat, said they were notified on Friday that the city had filed a second appeal against the order issued on Wednesday.
“We will potentially have to go back to court. We’re not happy with the way that the city is conducting themselves in this matter. I think a simple resolution was, as we asked him, let’s meet at the round table and let’s try and get this matter settled.”
What’s the issue
The matter concerns a September booking of the Vygieskraal stadium for the historic event, which is an expression of the identity, heritage, and resilience of the Mother City’s diverse communities.
After being provisionally approved in September 2025, the City of Cape Town withdrew its approval for the Vygieskraal stadium to be used for the Kaapse Klopse Karnival, citing what it called “operational, as well as safety concerns.”
Celebrations for the Kaapse Klopse Karnival are still set for 6 January 2026, echoing the city’s sentiment that “all systems go” ahead of the “official” Tweede Nuwe Jaar festival on Monday.
