Ms. Nakedi Grace Kekana was born in Hlakano Village, Zebediela, Limpopo Province.
She started school at Mashigwana Primary School where she completed her grade 7, she then moved to Reholegile Secondary School before completing her Grade 12 at Makgoka High School in 1985.
In 1986, she moved to Mokopane College of Education and enrolled for a Senior Teachers Diploma which she completed in 1988.
Ms. Nakedi Grace Kekana graduated with the Bachelor of Arts Degree (BA) with the University of South Africa (UNISA) in 1996. In 2005, she completed her Honours Degree in Education with the same University (UNISA).
Ms. Kekana holds a Programme in Executive Leadership in Municipal Development with the University of Pretoria, which she completed in 2009. She also qualified for a Programme in Management Development with Wits University in 2011.
Her political career can be traced back in 1995 when she was elected as the chairperson of the ANC Hlakano Branch, where she was then elected as the treasurer of the ANC Lepelle-Nkupi Sub-Region in 2005.
Ms. Nakedi Grace Kekana became a Regional Executive Member (REC) member of the ANC Women’s League in Peter Mokaba Region in 2006, in the same year she was elected as SALGA Provincial Executive Committee Member (a position she held for 10 years).
She has served as a member of SADTU, SACP and SANCO between 1994 and 2021. Ms. Nakedi Grace Kekana was then elected as a member of the Regional Executive Committee (REC) of the ANC Peter Mokaba Region in 2010 before being elected as the treasurer of the same structure in 2014. In May 2022 she was elected as the ANC Limpopo Treasurer, a position she currently occupies.
She is a community leader and developer. In 1998, she was appointed as the SGB member of Reholegile High School and the secretary of the Methodist Church. In the year 1994, she was appointed as the chairperson of the then RDP, and in 2004 she became the chairperson of the Water Committee for Mvula Trust.
She was appointed as a teacher at Reholehile High School in 1989 (a position she occupied for 17 years) until 2006. In 2006 she was appointed as the Speaker of Lepelle - Nkupi Local Municipality before becoming the Mayor of the same local municipality from 2016 to 2018.
Ms. Kekana joined the Limpopo Legislature as the Member of the Provincial Legislature in 2019 under the Whippery Programming Committee. In October 2022, she was appointed as the MEC of Sport, Arts and Culture in Limpopo Province, and subsequently appointed MEC for Limpopo Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in the 7th Administration of the Provincial Government on the 18th of June 2024.
