Fana Mokoena (born 13 May 1971) is a South African actor and political activist, he served as a Member of Parliament, first as a delegate to the National Council of Provinces representing his home province Free State from May 2014 until August 2016; then later as a full member of the National Assembly of South Africa between August 2016 and October 2020 when he resigned.
[2] He started his acting career as a full member of the Playhouse Theatre company in 1993, and in 1994 he made his television debut in the South African TV film The Line.
In 2011, he appeared in the action biography film adaptation of Machine Gun Preacher in the role of John Garang alongside Gerard Butler.
[6] He also portrayed the anti-apartheid fighter Govan Mbeki in the film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom with Idris Elba.
[4] Mokoena has received several accolades in the entertainment industry, both in his home country and internationally, including Best Actor Award at the South African Film and Television Awards SAFTA for his role in The LAB; and Best Actor in Supporting Role at the African Movie Academy Awards AMAA in Lagos, Nigeria for his role in Man On Ground In 1976 Fana Mokoena's mother, Arcillia Mekodi Mokoena was detained and held in solitary confinement by the Apartheid regime for political activism[7] She was incarcerated for inciting a student protest at a school in Kroonstad where she was a teacher, a protest action effected in solidarity with the 1976 Soweto Student uprising which saw scores of students being massacred by the Apartheid regime.
[14] Mokoena resigned from the National Assembly with effect from 16 October 2020 but remained in the EFF's Central Command Team as a member of the War Council, the party's operational authority.
After 8 years hiatus from the entertainment industry due to his engagements in politics, Mokoena has returned to the small screen in a popular South African soapie Scandal!