SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa's Ms Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the charismatic former wife of Mr Nelson Mandela, has been found guilty of violating parliament's code of conduct and could face prosecution for perjury.
Ms Madikizela-Mandela, a member of parliament since 1994 and president of the women's league of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), faces a severe public reprimand in parliament and the loss of 15 days salary. Parliament's Ethics Committee found she had failed to declare additional income, as required by parliamentary regulations.
Fellow ANC MP Mr Luwellyn Landers, who headed the special panel appointed by the Ethics Committee to investigate the charges against her, said she could also face criminal action over the matter.
Ms Madikizela-Mandela, still the darling of the ANC's poorest supporters, is currently on trial in Pretoria for fraud, facing allegations that she used the ANC's name to run a loan scam. She denies the charge.
At a bail hearing in October last year, she said in a sworn statement she could not pay much to guarantee her release because her living expenses already exceeded her salary as a member of parliament.
Ms Madikizela-Mandela lives mainly in a multi-storey mansion she built in Soweto, outside Johannesburg, while her then husband was in jail for fighting white rule. She travels in a luxury German saloon accompanied by several body guards. She listed monthly expenses totaling more than 72,000 rand (€6,600) - more than four times her salary in parliament.
When challenged by fellow legislators on her failure to declare the additional income, she said in a stinging letter to the Ethics Committee: "Your question is based on nonsensical media speculative reports." Mr Landers said the committee had given greater weight to her sworn statement than her angry letter, but he said the denial indicated that she might have lied to the court, which is a crime.
Ms Madikizela-Mandela was convicted of a role in the kidnapping and assault of a young activist later found murdered near her home. A six-year prison sentence was reduced on appeal to a fine.