Billionaire Patrice Motsepe for President?

Patrice Motsepe

Cape Town – Some senior ANC members are reportedly pushing for billionaire businessman Patrice Motsepe to run for ANC president at the 2027 national conference.

According to Daily Investor, the members have even created a flyer naming him as president, with Senzo Mchunu as deputy and Oscar Mabuyane as secretary general.

“However, the sources highlighted that it is still early days and that there is a long road ahead before the next ANC National Conference in 2027,” the report quoted Rapport as saying.

Despite this, ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula has warned against early campaigning, stressing party discipline and threatening disciplinary action for those promoting candidates prematurely.

In December 2024, Mbalula urged party members to avoid discussing potential successors to President Cyril Ramaphosa ahead of the 2027 elective conference.

This reminder was directed at all ANC structures, emphasising that discussing succession at this point was counterproductive and shifted attention away from the party’s priorities of renewal and rebuilding public confidence.

“In recent days, a narrative has emerged in the public discourse suggesting a number of senior leaders are involved in a succession race for leadership positions at the next ANC National Conference in 2027…

“The narrative is premised on a misguided analysis of our body politic, whether by default or by design. It is equally a mischievous effort aimed at detracting us from the task at hand of renewal and reversing our electoral fortunes. This goes against the constitutionally stated duty for all ANC members that this is underpinned by selflessness and seeking no personal material gain but to voluntarily improve the lives of our people,” Mbalula said in a statement.

Mbalula, a possible contender for the presidency, may face Deputy President Paul Mashatile and others, including Treasurer-General Gwen Ramokgopa, Gauteng Chair Panyaza Lesufi, and Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, according to IOL.

Previously, he warned against efforts to oust Ramaphosa, stressing the need for unity and preparation to reverse the ANC’s declining electoral support.

“We are saying we must not be diverted and that we are coming from a terrible, horrible and disastrous election campaign that gave us 40 percent and the first thing that we think about is who becomes the leader after President [Cyril] Ramaphosa it can’t be.

First-ever electoral loss 

“That discussion we are going to suppress it to the moon and back till it happens at the right time not that it should not happen, we are not going to entertain it. We know that there are people who are whispering and we find them we are going to suppress it. You would have never seen suppression in your life in the ANC you will see it. It’s not important. The ANC is one foot in and one foot out, our pre-occupation cannot be who becomes the next leader,” Mbalula  on the sidelines of the ANC’s six-day national executive committee (NEC) meeting at the Birchwood Hotel in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng in August.

Following its first-ever electoral loss in May, with support dropping to 40%, the ANC formed a Government of National Unity (GNU) to stabilise its position.

Mbalula framed the GNU as a temporary strategy to rebuild the party’s base before the 2026 local elections, asserting that the party remains committed to renewal over factional debates.

“We have never been under any illusion that the GNU is a means to an end, and therefore not a permanent feature of the political landscape we envisage,” he said.

Motsepe, seen as a “dark horse,” has long-standing ties to the ANC and is the brother-in-law of Ramaphosa, Daily Investor said.

He is highly respected for his business achievements and humble beginnings, which, along with his role in football through Mamelodi Sundowns and the Confederation of African Football, could make him an appealing candidate to voters.

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