The decision of the Minister of Arts and Culture to rename Grahamstown to Makhanda was upheld by the Grahamstown High Court on Tuesday morning.
An organisation calling themselves 'Keep Grahamstown Grahamstown (KGG) took the matter to court and argued that keeping the name would have been good for reconciliation to illustrate that we have put historical differences from centuries ago, behind us.
Jock McConnakie who spearheaded the court action says he regrets the court's decision but accepts it.
"It remains our view that the renaming was forced on Grahamstown from outside for political reasons and does not reflect the genuine wishes of the local community. It is also contrary to a key guideline of the South African Geographic Names Council (SAGNC) that existing names should be retained as part of the cultural fabric of the nation," he said.
The name was changed in June of 2018 when Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa published a notice in the Government Gazette.
Makhanda was the 19th century Xhosa warrior who fought the British in 1819.
Mthethwa said at the time that the name change followed over 20 years of deliberation with members of the public, academics, and historians and as early as 2012 the Makana Local Municipality had public engagements on the name change.
