By Thapelo Molefe
North West businessman Benjy Maponya has broken his three-year silence over a bitter business dispute with mining businessman Solomon “MySol” Soka Madibela. He alleges that he was cut out of a mining contract he founded after refusing demands that included leaving his wife.
The dispute escalated on Thursday after Maponya appeared on Macgyver “MacG” Mukwevho’s Podcast and Chill, where he discussed his fallout with Madibela.
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Clips from the interview circulated on social media. Madibela approached the High Court in Johannesburg and it granted him an urgent interim interdict against Maponya and MacG.
The order prohibits Maponya and MacG from publishing or broadcasting statements alleging that Madibela is involved in, or suspected of involvement in, criminal activity.
It also directs Maponya to remove specified posts about Madibela and his company from his X account within two hours of being served with the order.
The court issued a rule nisi, setting 22 October as the return date for the respondents to show cause why the interim order should not be made final. The respondents may also apply to have the return date brought forward on 24 hours’ notice to Madibela.
The order does not determine the merits of Maponya’s allegations about the mining contract, which remain untested in court.
Maponya first set out his allegations in a Facebook post on Wednesday, detailing his version of events surrounding the N4 Cluster mining operation at Buffels West.
He insisted that he founded the company and alleged that his former friend and business partner took over an opportunity he had secured through a mining contract.
Maponya said he was appointed by Samancor, alongside VJ Coal, for an opencast mining project before he was advised to find a technical partner after VJ Coal was allegedly liquidated.
In a separate account circulating on social media, it was alleged that Madibela had become involved in VJ Coal’s leadership without Maponya’s knowledge.
The account claimed Maponya only discovered this when VJ Coal attempted to buy him a Mercedes-Benz A45 as a token of appreciation for including the company in the mining deal.
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These claims have not been independently verified.
Maponya said he subsequently approached Madibela, whom he regarded as a close friend, to become his technical partner. The two companies then entered into a joint venture, with agreements signed outlining their respective shares in the contract.
“We used to share a 2kg chicken portion. I used to borrow him my car. We were like brothers,” Maponya said.
However, he alleged that the relationship deteriorated several months into the contract when he noticed discrepancies in payments and confronted Madibela.
Maponya claimed he was subsequently informed that he would no longer receive his contractual shares and was given a list of conditions that he alleges he had to meet to continue receiving payments.
These allegedly included leaving his wife, relocating from Hartbeespoort to Majakaneng in the North West, stopping his community activities, including hosting soccer tournaments and building houses for people, and leaving Facebook.
He also claimed that one of the points of disagreement was an alleged insistence that he accompany Madibela to a sangoma, which he refused because he did not believe in them.
“Tell them how you wanted me to leave my wife and promised if I did, you would continue to pay me,” Maponya wrote.
“I refused all of it.”
Maponya alleged that he was subsequently cut off from his shares, denied access to the premises and informed that the tender was being re-advertised.
He claimed the opportunity eventually went to Madibela’s company, despite his understanding that their agreement would remain valid for the lifespan of the opencast mine.
He maintains that his contract was never formally terminated and said Samancor had records of his appointment and the arrangements surrounding the project.
The alleged loss of income had severe financial consequences, according to Maponya, who said he could no longer afford to maintain his home in Hartbeespoort, which he valued at R2.1 million.
He said he had been paying about R115,000 a month on the property, with approximately R700,000 remaining on the balance when his income stopped. After being unable to keep up with the payments for more than nine months, he said he reached an agreement with the owner to leave the house.
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Maponya said he and his wife later moved to Majakaneng, where they built a three-room structure on family property while attempting to rebuild their lives.
Despite maintaining that he still has a valid contract, Maponya said he could not afford to pursue the dispute in court.
“I decided to leave it and start a new life with my wife, the woman I chose over money,” he said.
Maponya said he had previously declined interview requests from two major South African broadcasters because he wanted to move on from the dispute. He alleged that recent attempts to humiliate him prompted him to speak publicly.
He also claimed that he was being targeted while seeking justice for a community member who was allegedly killed by five known individuals who had not been arrested. Maponya further alleged that voice notes had been circulated in an attempt to implicate him in rape allegations, which he described as fabricated.
He raised concerns about his safety and that of his family, claiming that people posing as police officers had visited his home three years ago while he was speaking out about the dispute.
He appealed for assistance with legal funding and personal security.
Maponya further alleged that the dispute extended beyond his individual contract to questions about community benefits linked to a separate Samancor and ALMAR project. He claimed that a 30% community benefit had been placed under Madibela’s control and that some individuals received salaries from the allocation.
These allegations have not been independently verified.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Madibeng has condemned Madibela following the allegations, accusing him of betraying his former friend and business associate.
In a statement on Thursday, the party said the revelations about the mining dispute raised concerns about Madibela’s conduct and his relationship with the community.
“The EFF in Madibeng is disgusted by the lengths MySol has gone to gratify his greed, and his mocking of Maponya’s personal circumstances,” the statement read.
The party said Madibela’s alleged conduct raised questions about whether he could be trusted to address the challenges facing the people of Madibeng.
“A man who mocks the suffering of another in public is not a man that can be trusted with the challenges and plights of the people of Madibeng,” the EFF said.
Madibela’s response to Maponya’s contractual allegations and the EFF’s statement was not available at the time of publication.
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