A fierce contest has erupted among lobby groups backing billionaire Patrice Motsepe’s potential ANC presidential bid, with rival factions battling for control of branch structures and accusing each other of attempting to hijack the campaign ahead of the party’s 2027 leadership race.
The latest #M27 lobby group, led by KwaZulu-Natal-based Mondli Mchunu, a former organiser of the 2022 push for suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu to become ANC secretary-general, insists it represents an authentic internal campaign rooted in ANC branches rather than public-facing lobbying.
On Friday, Mchunu distanced his formation from other Motsepe-aligned groupings, including one associated with government communications strategist Ishmael Mnisi, suggesting some organisers had already been removed from ANC-aligned platforms.
“It is that PM27, and that’s why they are being removed in all ANC groups,” Mchunu said when asked about tensions between the formations.
Pressed on whether rival groupings linked to other organisers were separate from his structure, Mchunu replied, “I don’t know those people. People are hijacking the struggle.”
He added that his network’s focus was firmly on internal ANC work: “Yes… we focused on rebuilding branches.”
Audio clips of a Tuesday virtual meeting of Mchunu’s group, confirmed by him, reveal a disciplined but defensive campaign seeking to consolidate control at branch level while fending off rival formations claiming to speak for Motsepe.
Participants warned members against public campaigning or media exposure, arguing that lobbying must remain within ANC processes until formal nomination periods open.
“We agreed that that is not the strategy that we will adopt up until January next year when the campaign starts officially and the candidates can accept nomination and everyone is starting to campaign openly,” the meeting heard.
Organisers stressed the need to avoid disciplinary problems with the party. “We will follow the rules… because at the end of the day we are card-carrying members of the ANC. So neither one of us must be called at Luthuli House for any disciplinary process,” one speaker said.
The group rejected a centrally imposed leadership structure and instead proposed that provincial coordinators emerge from grassroots organisers aligned with their network.
“There won’t be any provincial coordinator among ourselves as the national organising committee… each province will be led by people from the masses, from the ground forces,” the meeting heard.
Members were told to organise locally and propose leadership from within their ranks.
“You will organise yourselves… and then you will give us the name… that this is the comrade that will lead us in the province,” organisers said.
The recordings also refer to tensions with another grouping accused of hijacking internal structures and even misusing funds, including references to a disputed R5-million issue circulating among organisers.
“The situation with those people… their agenda is not about the ANC,” one organiser said, warning that rival actors were distracting the campaign.
The meeting also heard that the other group’s media leaks and public messaging had compromised the intended internal lobbying process. “They’ve managed to pull the media to something that is supposed to be underground… discussing the ANC president. It’s supposed to be a secret,” the recording states.
Despite references to growing national support for Motsepe, organisers repeatedly emphasised that only ANC branch delegates would ultimately matter.
“Even if you can have a million people saying they want to support Motsepe, if those people are not branch members and they are not branch delegates, all those people are useless. We don’t need them,” the transcript states.
Members were instructed to concentrate on branch meetings, regional structures, and provincial conferences to quietly build support. “From now until December we do only one thing: we monitor the dynamics of each province… who becomes the chair, who becomes the secretary,” organisers said.
In response to questions from Sunday World, the PM27 campaign – widely associated with efforts to mobilise support for Motsepe – rejected claims of illegitimacy.
“The PM27 Campaign firmly rejects and dismisses the recent allegations questioning our legitimacy and integrity; they are nothing more than desperate fabrications,” said Ishmael Mnisi, the campaign’s head of media and PR.
“These baseless claims are the work of detractors trying to hijack the PM27 Campaign for their own agendas, rather than supporting our true mission: uniting behind Dr Patrice Motsepe’s historic journey to the ANC presidency in 2027.”
Mnisi said PM27 was the only recognised formation established to coordinate support for Motsepe’s prospective candidacy and was not affiliated with other groups claiming to organise similar efforts.
Visit SW YouTube Channel for our video content
