Winnie gets five years in prison

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 8216;8216;Mother of the Nation8221; for her fight against apartheid during her former husband Nelson Mandela8217;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.