Johannesburg — The woman many South Africans considered the 'Mother of the Nation, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, was convicted on multiple charges of fraud and theft in a Pretoria court, Thursday.
The conviction could see the one-time anti-apartheid activist, heroine and former wife of Nelson Mandela, sent to prison. Madikizela-Mandela and her financial advisor and co-accused, Addy Moolman, could be sentenced for up to 15 years in jail on each charge.
Both were convicted of involvement in an elaborate bank loan fraud scheme.
"The states evidence is overwhelming," magistrate Peet Johnson told the packed Pretoria courtroom, in a verdict he took two and a half hours to read.
Madikizela-Mandela, 66, showed little emotion or reaction when the verdicts were announced, in the presence of members of her family and the media, as well as supporters.
Madikizela-Mandela was found guilty on 43 counts of fraud and 25 of theft. Moolman was convicted on 58 counts of fraud and 25 of theft. Both had pleaded not guilty.
State prosecutors said correspondence bearing Madikizela-Mandelas signature, and the letterhead of the governing African National Congress Womens League (ANCWL) which she heads, was used to secure bogus loans for fictitious ANCWL employees of up to R1m ($130,000).
Defence lawyers for Madikizela-Mandela had argued that she had been duped into participating in a fraud scheme she was not aware of. But the judge concluded as "completely improbable" the suggestion that Madikizela-Mandela had not been told of the scam.
Madikizela-Mandela had dismissed the state's case as a "pack of lies".
The magistrate said "Both accused had the direct intention, in each case where they are implicated, to defraud. There can be no doubt that there was a common purpose between them."
Madikizela-Mandela and Moolman were released on bail and were expected to be sentenced on Friday.
If sentenced, Madikizela-Mandela may be forced to resign as an ANC MP and stand down as the powerful president of her partys Womens League. Her conviction prompted immediate and renewed calls from the opposition for Madikizela-Mandela to give up her parliamentary seat.
"A member of parliament convicted on 43 charges of fraud should not stay on in parliament," said a statement issued by the opposition Democratic Alliances Chief Whip, Douglas Gibson. "Unless Mrs Winnie Madikizela-Mandela resigns immediately, the ANC should terminate her membership of parliament without any further delay," Gibson added.
The image of the heroine of the liberation struggle, with impeccable anti-apartheid credentials, became tarnished when her name was linked to the kidnapping and killing of a teenage township activist 12 years ago. Madikizela-Mandela received a suspended sentence for the abduction of Stompie Seipei, and was judged an accessory to assault on the 14 year-old. On appeal, her six-year jail term was reduced to a fine in 1991, the year after her then-husband Mandela was released from 27 years in prison.
The Mandelas divorced in 1996.
Known simply as "Winnie" by her followers, she still commands considerable popular support and fosters her image as a populist leader. But Madikizela-Mandela has courted controversy and made many enemies as she built up her strong grassroots following.
"If you understand her history and her background and what she went through, and the impact of the (anti-apartheid) struggle on her, you might understand some of things she ended up doing. It was not because she wanted to, but the circumstances at the time. It was for her survival," one supporter told allAfrica.com.
Her detractors argue that a respected icon, who fought against white rule and apartheid, has become a wayward, ill-disciplined and political maverick - a liability the ANC should jettison. Sympathisers say she has already been effectively sidelined by the ANC.
Madikizela-Mandela has publicly clashed with her partys leader, President Thabo Mbeki, with whom she seldom appears to agree and openly criticises. She has often eclipsed Mbeki at public events and official functions, when her theatrically late entrances are generally accompanied by rousing applause and chanting from the crowds.
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But her followers continue to forgive Madikizela-Mandelas faults and indiscretions. On her fraud conviction for the bank loan scam Thursday, one Johannesburg office manager told allAfrica. "I think she was not given good advice. Look at how many times we end up signing things we havent read; everyone from corporate people downwards - anyone who signs anything can end up in the same boat, because they trust the people who put the piece of paper in front of them. Dont you?"
She said Madikizela-Mandela remained her hero, because she was "trying to help people from the grassroots, people who have nothing."
Others in the black community put Madikizela-Mandelas conviction down to a racist witch hunt against a caring and unique woman. Outside the courthouse, one man told the BBC: "I am here and all these people are here to show solidarity to our leader, Winnie Mandela."
Asked if the fact that she was now a twice-convicted criminal made any difference, Madikizela-Mandelas supporter said "She was framed. The prosecutor was white, the magistrate was white, it was a racist decision."
