Monday, November 9, 2026

South African billionaire to become CAF president

Mr. Motsepe, whose estimated net worth is $3 billion (£2.15 billion), is a mining magnate, investor, and philanthropist.

• March 12, 2021
South African billionaire, Patrice Motsepe
CAF President, Patrice Motsepe

Patrice Motsepe, a South African billionaire, is on the verge of becoming the Confederation of African Football (CAF) president today, reports BBC.

Barring any last-minute changes, Mr. Motsepe, owner of former CAF Champions League winners, Mamelodi Sundowns, who have won a record 10 South African Premier Soccer League titles, will run unopposed in the elections billed for Morocco.

Other contestants had already stepped down.

Mr. Motsepe will replace incumbent Ahmad Ahmad from Madagascar, barred from contesting today’s election by the Court of Arbitration for Sports following corruption allegations.

According to the BBC, Mr. Ahmad got a reduced two-year ban from an initial five-year ban, and a 50,000 Swiss Francs reduced fine from an initial CHF 200,000 by the FIFA Independent Ethics Committee last year.

CAS, after a thorough investigation, found the Madagascan “guilty of not recording various financial transactions, accepting cash payments, distributing gifts and misappropriation of CAF’s funds to help finance certain federation presidents for their pilgrimages to Mecca.”

Motsepe, named Africa’s ninth-richest person by Forbes magazine, is one of South Africa’s first black billionaires who became a billionaire in 2008, with Forbes calling him the first African to do so.

Motsepe, the founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals in 1994, established his mining company.

Years later, during the period of the slump in prices of the gold market, and due to the favourable price at that point, he started buying low-producing gold mines that eventually became highly profitable.

Born on 28 January 1962, he was trained by his father as an entrepreneur while a student.

He bagged a degree in mining and business law from Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand. According to the BBC, Mr. Motsepe, whose estimated net worth is $3 billion (£2.15 billion), is a mining magnate, investor, and philanthropist.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

Nigerian Bar Association

States

Independence: NBA urges Nigerians to expect better future

The NBA said that ordinary Nigerians should be deriving benefit from the subsidy removal rather than hardship.

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Federal secretariat in Osun

States

Government offices shut in Osun as NLC begins three-day strike

The NLC said the issues raised over the local government allocations remained unresolved.

United States President Donald Trump

Heading 1

Trump admits deportation policy was ‘too tough’ after Republican midterm losses

Mr Trump also signalled openness to negotiate an immigration agreement with Democrats.

Chelle names 23-man squad

Sport

Chelle names 23-man squad for Nigeria’s U-23 AFCON qualifiers against DR Congo

Nigeria is seeking to qualify for the U-23 AFCON, to be held in November 2027 in Egypt.

Destiny Etiko

Showbiz

Nollywood actress Destiny Etiko appointed Enugu gov’s SSA on youth engagement

Etiko, who hails from Udi Local Government Area of Enugu, gained prominence in Nollywood after appearing in the 2014 movie Idemili.

Nigerian Air Force officers

NationWide

NAF approves strategic leadership posting

Chief of the Air Staff Sunday Aneke approved the fresh postings and appointments on November 7.

Nigeria’s Flamingos

Sport

Musawa ‌‌congratulates Flamingos on historic U-17 Women’s World Cup win

Musawa described the triumph as a proud moment for Nigeria and a landmark for African women’s football.