Johannesburg – Insults, calls for resignations and denials took centre stage as the fallout between Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula and President Jacob Zuma intensified on Monday.

Hours after The Star reported that Mbalula had said Zuma was “politically bankrupt” and married “every week”, pro-Zuma forces tore into Mbalula and called for his resignation.

KwaZulu-Natal ANC secretary Sihle Zikalala accused Mbalula of being a paranoid opportunist who tried to project himself as a kingmaker. He called on Mbalula to withdraw the statement or resign as both a minister and as an ANC national executive committee member.

He also dismissed Mbalula’s claim that he had “delivered” Zuma in Polokwane as an insult to the branches, and called on the party’s national working committee to sanction him.

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