There appears to be no end in sight to the dispute between the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) and the city over a venue for minstrel competition events.
The city is set to appeal a high court ruling handed down in Cape Town on Monday evening, ordering it to provide the association with a venue for its competitions on January 1, 10, 17 and 24.
In his ruling, judge James Lekhuleni ordered the city to “take all steps necessary to facilitate” the association’s compliance with all applicable event permit requirements. These include the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act (SASREA), the city’s events bylaw, “and any other applicable legislation or bylaws, within such timeframes as are necessary to enable the events to proceed on the dates specified”.
“The [association] is ordered to comply with all safety and event-related provisions of the Events By-Law and all applicable legislation, including SASREA, and to co-operate fully with the [city] and all relevant authorities in ensuring the safe and lawful conduct of the events,” the ruling reads.
The city was also ordered to pay the legal costs. The association approached the court on an urgent basis after it said the city had “arbitrarily” withdrawn its booking for Vygieskraal Stadium on September 22, despite the booking having been confirmed three days earlier.
In an affidavit filed in support of the application, Igshaan Alexander, a representative of the association, said the city had failed to provide an alternative venue despite “numerous requests and correspondence”.
“The Cape Town Minstrel tradition, also known as ‘the Klopse’ or ‘Kaapse Klopse’, is a cultural phenomenon that traces its roots back to at least mid-19th century,” Alexander said in the affidavit.
“This tradition arose during the colonial era when both British and Dutch colonists held people as slaves in the Cape.”
Alexander said the “high point of this tradition is the annual celebration held on January 2 each year in Cape Town, known as Die Tweede Nuwe Jaar”.
“This date has immense historical significance as it was traditionally the one day of the year when enslaved people were given leave,” he said. “The competitions that follow in January form an integral part of this cultural celebration.”
The city said it was “disappointed by the judgment”, but stressed that the legal dispute had “no bearing on Tweede Nuwe Jaar”, which is managed by the Kaapse Klopse Karnival Association.
It said minstrel events account for its biggest single allocation of events funding. According to the city, CTMCA’s booking of Vygieskraal Stadium in September was provisionally approved, subject to the completion of standard operational, safety and legislative requirements.
“Following a comprehensive internal review, the city withdrew the provisional booking a few days later, after identifying significant operational and safety concerns, including statutory venue risk-grading and event risk-grading limitations,” the city said.
“The CTMCA failed to submit the mandatory documentation required for the processing of an event permit application for their competitions, despite being informed by the city of these requirements. In the absence of complete documentation, the city was unable to lawfully proceed with the permit review process for the CTMCA competitions.
“Key among these is that Vygieskraal is graded to accommodate only low-risk events, while minstrel events are classified as medium-risk by SAPS. As such, the venue does not meet the minimum requirements of the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act to host medium-risk events of this nature.”
The city confirmed it would appeal the ruling.
“While the city is applying for leave to appeal the court’s order, the city is committed to supporting the minstrel culture and rich heritage,” it said.
The city said it had only two venues compliant for medium-risk events — Athlone Stadium and DHL Stadium.
“Despite the city’s intention to apply for leave to appeal, the city is in the process of identifying, with the intention to inform the CTMCA of the availability of these venues and the applicable booking process. Due to existing bookings, these two venues are not available on all the dates requested by the CTMCA and set out in the court ruling.
“The city, to the best of its ability, will also share available information on alternative, privately owned, medium-risk venues with the CTMCA, for consideration.”
It said its “position has been, and continues to be, that it acted lawfully and reasonably in this matter, and remains committed to upholding the law and ensuring that all events hosted within Cape Town comply with applicable legislation and safety standards, in the interest of public safety and responsible event management”.
“It is also regrettable that the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association continues to perpetuate a false narrative that the city does not support minstrel events,” the city said.
“This is simply untrue. The city has consistently demonstrated its support for these events by working constructively with compliant minstrel groups that respect due process and comply with legislative and safety requirements. We commend those organisations for their responsible approach and continued cooperation.”
The city said it “remains fully supportive of minstrel traditions and encourages residents and visitors to come out in large numbers to support the various lawful events taking place across the city over multiple weekends”.
“It is important to note that the Tweede Nuwe Jaar parade will take place on Monday, 5 January 2026, a date determined by the organising committee, the Kaapse Klopse Karnival Association. The funding allocated to minstrel events represents the city’s single largest investment in events overall,” it said.
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