Zilindile Vena

Vena was elected as a councillor for the Economic Freedom Fighters in Nelson Mandela Bay in 2016. In October 2018, Vena unsuccessfully stood for provincial chairperson of the EFF at the party's provincial conference.^[1] He was elected to the EFF's Central Command Team at the party's National Peoples Assembly in December 2019.^[2]

Vena resigned as a councillor of Nelson Mandela Bay and was suspended from party activities in February 2020 after he was accused of raping a Nelson Mandela University student.^[3] Vena pleaded not guilty in February 2021, and he was acquitted of the charge in July 2022.^[4][5]

Vena was elected provincial chairperson of the EFF in November 2022, defeating incumbent Yazini Tetyana by 33 votes.^[6] He was sworn in as a member of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature on 28 February 2023, succeeding Tetyana who resigned in January.^[7]