Bejani Chauke (born 16 June 1971) is a South African political strategist who was the principal political advisor to the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, from 2018. He is also known for managing the CR17 campaign that secured Ramaphosa's election as president of the African National Congress (ANC) at the ANC's 54th National Conference in December 2017. He was formerly a political advisor to Thandi Modise while she was Premier of the North West and Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces. In November 2022, the Financial Mail reported that Chauke had resigned as Ramaphosa's political advisor amid his campaign for election as ANC Treasurer-General at the party's 55th National Conference.
Early life and career
Born on 16 June 1971, Chauke was born and raised in Green Farm near Malamulele in the northeast of what is now Limpopo province. In the 1990s, he studied political science at the University of Limpopo at Turfloop, where he became involved in politics. In 2022, he was studying for an MPhil in corporate strategy.
Advisor to Thandi Modise
Chauke was formerly a political advisor to Maureen Modiselle, who was Premier of the North West in 2009 to 2010, and then to Thandi Modise. He was special advisor to Modise when she was North West Premier; he was installed in this position by the time of the Marikana massacre in August 2012. He followed her to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), where she was NCOP Chairperson and he was her political advisor. He was advisor to Modise in 2014 when she was investigated on animal cruelty charges relating to her private farm in the North West; in 2019, he appeared as a witness in the case.
CR17 campaign: 2015–2017
Ahead of the 54th National Conference of the African National Congress (ANC) in December 2017, Chauke ran Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa's successful campaign for election as ANC president. The Daily Maverick said that he was by then already "a long-time activist and ally of Ramaphosa's". He joined Ramaphosa's team at an early stage, heading "the logistics of the campaign" from September 2015 to May 2016. In August 2016, he was reportedly involved in securing the controversial involvement of businessman Cheslyn Mostert in the campaign; as Chauke urged that "things needed to move quickly" and operational infrastructure needed to be established, Mostert provided the campaign with a base on his smallholding at Randjesfontein on the Midrand.
In subsequent months Chauke was official national campaign manager, with oversight of all aspects of the campaign and responsibility for its ultimate success. Working above project manager Marion Sparg in the campaign's organisational hierarchy, he managed the campaign's team of organisers and fieldworkers and was the main channel of communication between the operational side of the campaign and its political committee. A source inside the campaign told the Daily Maverick that Chauke did not receive a salary from the campaign because he was on an official salary, presumably from Modise's NCOP office, where he remained an advisor in 2017.
Advisor to the President: 2018–2022
After incumbent President Jacob Zuma resigned in February 2018 and Ramaphosa was sworn in as President of South Africa, the Sowetan reported that Ramaphosa was expected to appoint Chauke to a position in his office in Pretoria's Union Buildings. On 1 August, Chauke was appointed political advisor in the Presidency on a contract linked to the President's term. His brief was reportedly to focus on the ANC's campaign in the 2019 general election. News24 said he was perceived as Ramaphosa's "right-hand man" and "fixer"; he has also been described as "a wily politician" and "a sharp and strategic mind". In 2022, the Daily Maverick reported that Ramaphosa was rumoured "not to make a move" without Chauke.
Chauke was reappointed political advisor in May 2019 when Ramaphosa won re-election to a full term as President. In subsequent years, he was also sometimes described as the President's Special Envoy as he acted as Ramaphosa's emissary on several occasions, including in August 2019, when he met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; in October 2020, when he met with Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, about the African Union's involvement in the Libyan peace process; in June 2021, when he met with Chadian President Mahamat Déby in N'Djamena, Chad; and in September 2022, when he met with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Ramaphosa also reportedly dispatched him at least thrice to Kinshasha to meet with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo.