The Grahamstown High Court has granted an application for leave to appeal a decision to change Grahamstown's name to Makhanda.
The ruling by Judge Murray Lowe on Thursday followed an application by local resident, Sigidla Ndumo, of the Keep Grahamstown Grahamstown campaign.
In his six-page judgment, Lowe said while he's not entirely convinced that another court may come to a different conclusion, he said it may be that one or other factual ground would be resolved differently and with consequent effect.
He said this point coupled "with the importance of the matter to the parties and the public" had persuaded him to grant the application for leave to appeal which will be heard by a full bench of the Grahamstown High Court.
The respondents in the matter were the Minister of Sport, Art and Culture, Nathi Mthetwa, the SA Geographical Names Council and the Makana Municipality.
