Bitsa Lenkopane

In January 2021, Lenkopane and four other ANC legislators were accused of colluding with opposition parties during a sitting in which Priscilla Williams was elected the Chairperson of Committees in the provincial legislature. Williams was elected to the position after narrowly beating Lenah Miga, the ANC's favoured candidate, in a secret ballot. Lenkopane and four other members of the ANC caucus – Williams, Aaron Motswana, Job Dliso, and Job Mokgoro – were accused of voting in favour of conducting the election by secret ballot, in defiance of an instruction from the party, via Chief Whip Paul Sebegoe, to support an open ballot.[10][11] On 31 January, the party announced that Lenkopane and the four others would have their party membership suspended, pending a disciplinary inquiry.[10] However, their membership was reinstated when the party leadership failed to serve disciplinary charges against them within the timelines set out in the party constitution.[12]

Later that year, Lenkopane faced internal disciplinary charges again when she and Mahumapelo were accused of sowing division in the party. They were charged with undermining the authority of the interim leadership corps that had replaced Mahumapelo at the head of the North West ANC in 2018; among other things, they had allegedly organised a parallel political rally metres away from an official ANC event during a by-election in 2020.[13][14] In April, the provincial ANC's internal disciplinary committee, chaired by Wendy Matsemela, found them both guilty of misconduct.[14] They were both suspended from the party for five years and the party said that they would be removed as ANC public representatives. In addition, Lenkopane was instructed to undergo a five-year course of political mentorship under ANC veteran Barbara Masekela, while Mahumapelo would undergo a three-year course under former President Thabo Mbeki.[14] Lenkopane said that she would appeal the decision,[15] and in September 2021 the decision was overturned by the disciplinary committee of the national ANC, chaired by Nocawe Mafu. The national committee said that the disciplinary process had not been "properly ventilated at the provincial level" and instructed the party to re-run it.[16]

In January 2022, the Provincial Secretary of the ANC Women's League in the North West, Bridgette Tlhomelang, was suspended from her office pending an investigation into fraud allegations; Lenkopane became acting Provincial Secretary.[17] Later that year, the league's entire provincial leadership corps was disbanded, ending Lenkopane's secretarial term; however, in August, she was appointed as the convenor of an interim task team that was installed to lead the provincial league until it held fresh leadership elections.[18] Her appointment was opposed by critics who claimed that she had a factional agenda and was aligned to Lindiwe Sisulu and other so-called "RET forces".[18]

Less than a fortnight later, at the ANC's provincial elective conference, Lenkopane was nominated to stand for election as Deputy Provincial Secretary of the mainstream ANC in the North West, running against Viola Motsumi and Motlalepula Rosho.[19] Motsumi was elected to the position.[20]