 Following the attack of Malema and the ANCYL on the Botswana government, he and other leaders were expelled from the ANC in 2011.Motlanthe felt that Malema ought not to have been expelled but that the ANC should have engaged with the errant ANCYL members.Motlanthe was nominated for the positions of President, Deputy President and NEC member of the ANC at its National Elective Conference in December 2012 at Mangaung.