The City of Cape Town on Friday obtained an interdict against the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) and its member troupes in the Western Cape High Court.
“The interdict prevents CTMCA from holding any event and/or function at any stadium or venue, whether City-owned or not, without first obtaining prior written regulatory approval to do so,” City Safety and Security boss, JP Smith, said.
He said the City was forced to obtain the interdict in a response to the group’s “continued disregard for national legislation and City by-laws”.
This comes after the association forced its way into both the Belhar Sports Ground and Vygieskraal Stadium to hold an event which was deemed as illegal.
The City then laid criminal charges against Ridwaan “Pot” Stemmet and the board of the CTMCA.
Smith said the CTMCA seems to pride itself on the fact that it is blatantly disregarding laws, but says it is putting the lives of its members and spectators in danger.
Stemmet’s wife, Zainoe, accused the City of “stripping us of our culture”.
“We don’t know what we are going to do with this latest interdict from the City, but we’ll never sell out,” she says.