PRETORIA, April 25: A South African court sentenced anti-apartheid heroine Winnie Madikizela-Mandela to five years in jail, with one year suspended, on Friday, a day after she was convicted on dozens of counts of fraud and theft.

The prosecution had said a jail sentence was appropriate for Madikizela-Mandela, 66, and her co-accused, broker Addy Moolman, but said the court should take her age into consideration.

It was the latest blow for a political maverick dubbed “the Mother of the Nation” for her fight against apartheid during her former husband Nelson Mandela’s 27-year imprisonment.

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.

Though Madikizela-Mandela remains popular among poor black South Africans, her reputation has been tarnished by a series of legal problems.—Reuters