A political fist-fight over who controls the mines has forced ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula to pick up the phone.
Mbalula says he will contact EFF leader Julius Malema to defuse a bitter public spat between Malema and mining businessman Solomon “MySol” Madibela, a clash that started on a podcast couch and exploded at a rally in Madibeng.
The ANC chief weighed in after the weekend’s exchange turned ugly online. While offering to mediate with Malema, Mbalula publicly defended Madibela, describing him as a solid businessman.
The feud was triggered when MySol appeared on Podcast and Chill with MacG. Asked about Malema, he dismissed him outright.
“I don’t have time for him,” he said.
That line did not sit well in the EFF. Days later, Malema hit back in front of thousands of supporters in the North West.
His message was that mines must benefit ordinary residents, not wealthy individuals. He then turned his fire directly on MySol.
“You must tell him that he is a small boy to me. I am not scared of small boys,” Malema told the crowd. “The mine will not service MySol, MySol se foot.”
He went further, accusing the entrepreneur of looting mining opportunities meant for communities and warning that such practices would be stopped.
Malema added: “I am not scared of men like him.”
The rally clip spread fast, but MySol’s response spread faster. On social media he hit back, saying Malema was left with “just one bar of energy” – a remark many followers interpreted as a claim that the EFF leader’s political or even personal end was near.
EFF supporters slammed the post as threatening. MySol’s backers argued it was slang for losing political power, not a literal threat.
It was at that point that Mbalula entered the chat.
Posting online, Mbalula said he was confused about what the two were even fighting about and that he would reach out to Malema to settle things peacefully. At the same time he vouched for MySol’s business credentials.
The timing matters. Mbalula is not just commenting as a spectator. He leads the ANC machinery in areas where both men have influence.
In the platinum belt – Madibeng, Rustenburg, Sekhukhune – the ANC has been bleeding votes to the EFF.
Malema’s call for community ownership of mines resonates where people see shafts worth billions but still fetch water in buckets. MySol’s story – a Limpopo-born businessman who owns mining interests and funds bursaries, jobs and donations – is exactly the kind of black business success the ANC wants to champion.