‘PM27 Savumelana’: Inside the quiet campaign to push Patrice Motsepe into ANC’s 2027 race
A quiet but increasingly visible campaign to draft billionaire businessman and CAF president Patrice Motsepe into the ANC’s 2027 leadership race has burst into the open – complete with branded T-shirts, coordinating structures and questions over who is paying the bill.
Although Motsepe has repeatedly said he is “not available” for the ANC presidency, a lobby group styling itself as PM27 Savumelana is pushing ahead with plans to position him as the party’s next leader at its December 2027 elective conference.
The name “PM27” plays on Motsepe’s initials and the year of the next ANC conference. The movement’s slogan is already emblazoned on T-shirts and on the lips of supporters who believe the mining, banking and insurance magnate – whose family owns Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club – should succeed President Cyril Ramaphosa and become a future president of the country.
T-shirts, trucks and a Joburg print shop
A video filmed inside a Johannesburg printing company has been circulating, showing thousands of PM27 Savumelana T-shirts being printed in bulk. The shirts are expected to be distributed to ANC members sympathetic to the campaign “as early as next week”, according to those involved.
This week alone, more than 50 000 PM27-branded T-shirts were printed at the Joburg plant for distribution across the country, according to insiders.
One source claimed that a mini cargo truck, estimated to carry between 4 000 and 7 000 shirts, delivered a first batch on 1 January, with another batch expected afterwards. The source said printing began on Monday and that by Friday, when Sunday World visited the premises, the cargo had already been collected.
To test the scale and cost of production, Sunday World requested a quotation from the contracted printing business, Seema Printing and Projects (SPP). The quote listed printing 1 000 round-neck T-shirts at R50 000. On that pricing, a print run of 50 000 units would cost around R2.5 million, raising fresh questions about who is bankrolling what is publicly presented as a “grassroots” effort.
‘Only 50 samples’, says printer – and ‘no big funders’, say campaigners
SPP owner Tokomi Seema, based in Doornfontein West, rejected claims of a massive production run. He insisted his company had printed only 50 “sample” shirts for people he does not know.
“I don’t know those people who came to my company to print PM27 T-shirts… They came in two cars with the Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal registration number plates,” he said, adding that he initially thought the order might be linked to Paul Mashatile’s lobbying ahead of next year.
PM27 convenor Sello Shai-morule also pushed back against the idea that the campaign is being driven by deep pockets.
Shai-morule denied that the forum has any prominent funders at this stage and even suggested that the large-scale printing was not coordinated by the PM27 leadership itself.
“PM27 does not receive any funding from any quarter whatsoever. It is sustained by men and women of integrity who freely give their time, skills and energy without expectation of material reward. Like all genuine grassroots campaigns, it is powered by comrades who understand that this effort is bigger than any individual interest,” he said.
‘Momentum building’ phase – and a full leadership slate
Shai-morule described PM27 as an ANC cadres’ forum which has now moved into what he calls the “momentum building” phase, with coordinating teams at national and provincial level.
“While Dr Motsepe has publicly clarified that he is not actively seeking the ANC presidency, our forum reflects the widespread desire among members and citizens for a leader who embodies unity, credibility, and integrity,” he said.
He explained that “PM27” stands for “Patrice Motsepe ANC President”, and that it is pegged directly to the ANC’s 2027 elective conference, which supporters believe will end with Motsepe delivering the closing address as ANC president.
The forum has already put together a leadership structure. According to Shai-morule, the core team includes:
- Sello Shai-morule – PM27 convenor
- Thulani Ngesi – deputy convenor
- Ayanda Ngangelizwe – forum secretary
- Mbulelo Mpande – national head of fundraising
- Welcome Nkuna – national head of security
- Charles Makola – responsible for policy, strategy and research
These positions are backed by nine provincial chapters, mirroring the ANC’s own organisational footprint.
Bejani Chauke’s name surfaces – and Mashatile in the crosshairs
While it is not yet clear who the official public face of the PM27 drive is meant to be, Sunday World has learnt from two highly placed sources that Bejani Chauke – former adviser to President Cyril Ramaphosa – is involved in efforts to have Motsepe succeed him.
Chauke played a central role in the successful CR17 campaign that helped Ramaphosa secure the ANC presidency. His reported involvement in PM27 suggests the emergence of a serious and organised lobby, not just a loose collection of fans.
If successful, the campaign would pit the popular billionaire against Deputy President Paul Mashatile for the ANC’s top job, setting up a high-stakes battle that could shape the country’s next leadership.
Is Motsepe even an ANC member?
The campaign has also sparked a more basic question: is Patrice Motsepe an ANC member in good standing?
According to a person close to PM27, that issue has been settled. They said Motsepe’s membership had been verified at a Johannesburg branch, clearing a key technical hurdle for any future nomination.
The push has now grown into a formalised campaign, with the branding, structures and mobilisation typical of ANC succession battles – even as Motsepe himself maintains a public distance.
Motsepe’s public stance: ‘Not available’ – and Mbalula’s warning
The growing visibility of PM27 material is creating a new political tension: Motsepe’s public insistence that he is “not available” versus the visible branding, manufacturing activity and distribution plans linked to a lobby that appears determined to draft him regardless.
Speaking at an engagement with the SA National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) in October, Motsepe again distanced himself from talk about his political ambitions in the ANC. He said he could contribute without holding office and would support whichever leaders are chosen through democratic processes.
Senior ANC leaders have also pushed back. In June last year, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula – himself seen as a future presidential hopeful – dismissed talk of a Motsepe 2027 bid.
“There are discussions about people whom we don’t know if they have branches, and such people are being paraded as the future leaders of the ANC because they have money. The ANC is not similar to football, you work hard to lead the party.
“It’s not [Mamelodi] Sundowns or [Orlando] Pirates. You just wake up tomorrow and want to contest with Irvin Khoza or Kaizer Motaung? You must stop comparing the ANC with football. If someone wants to lead the ANC, they must prove it here.
“People who keep on saying we want Motsepe don’t even know if he is a member of the ANC or not. Yes, we ‘chow’ his money, as he puts it, from time to time. There should be discipline in the ANC, and if Motsepe wants to lead the party, he must show up here and prove that he is a member of the ANC so that we can face him off.”
Tradition versus ambition
The ANC’s long-standing tradition discourages open campaigning for top positions, favouring a culture of “deployment by consensus” rather than presidential-style races.
Motsepe has so far stuck to that script in public, insisting he is not chasing the presidency. Yet, as PM27 Savumelana rolls out T-shirts, coordinates teams and quietly tests its reach across provinces, that stance is being increasingly tested.
For now, the ANC’s billionaire benefactor remains officially uninterested – but the movement building around his name suggests that by December 2027, party delegates may be asked to choose between a sitting deputy president and a man many comrades now openly brand as “Patrice Motsepe ANC President”.
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