Elijah H. Mdolomba was born in the Cape and educated at Healdtown. At the time of Bhambatha Rebellion in 1906, he was chaplain to a loyalist African army unit in Natal, and during World War I he served in France with an African labor battalion.
In the late 1920s he was president of the Cape African National Congress (ANC) and later held the position of ANC secretary-general during the presidency of Pixley Seme. He was known as a conservative.
Shortly before his death, he participated in the foundation meetings of the All African Convention in 1935-1936. James A. Calata succeeded him as Cape president in 1930 and as secretary-general in 1936.
Gerhart G.M and Karis T. (ed)(1977). From Protest to challenge: A documentary History of African Politics in South Africa: 1882-1964, Vol.4 Political Profiles 1882 - 1964. Hoover Institution Pres: Stanford University.