Cape Town - Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has been found guilty by her peers in Parliament of failing to disclose donations and some of her financial interests in the register of members' interests.

Ethics committee members met yesterday and agreed unanimously that National Assembly speaker Frene Ginwala should reprimand her severely in Parliament, informed sources said.

However, sources differed on whether Madikizela-Mandela would also be fined 15 days of her parliamentary salary.

Committee chairman Luwellyn Landers (African National Congress) would not divulge details of the committee's findings, saying that MadikizelaMandela had to be informed first, and not through the media.

An official announcement would be made tomorrow when the committee met in the morning, he said.

Madikizela-Mandela has at least twice snubbed a special panel set up by the committee to investigate allegations against her. In what one MP described as yet another contemptuous letter to the committee, MadikizelaMandela provided a doctor's certificate dated August 14, but backdated to June 12, as an explanation for her absence.

Madikizela-Mandela is rarely seen in Parliament, and is notorious for her absenteeism.

The committee found that she had failed to disclose donations of R50 000 a month, which she had outlined in a sworn statement during a bail application. The ANC Women's League president is at present standing trial on fraud and theft charges involving nearly R1m.

The committee also found that Madikizela-Mandela had failed to disclose her financial interests in the Mandela Family Museum.

MPs are required in terms of Parliament's code of conduct to disclose, among other things, gifts and donations of more than R350, as well as financial interests outside Parliament.

The committee also decided to investigate more claims that Inkatha Freedom Party MP Mandla Msomi had failed to disclose his financial interests in the register. He was being investigated for allegedly failing to disclose substantial discounts on two luxury vehicles bought from a defence company. Msomi appeared before the committee and denied the allegations.

However, the committee subsequently received correspondence, including copies of cheques allegedly made out to Msomi, indicating he may have benefited from other financial interests that he failed to disclose.

Deliberations on claims that former ANC Chief Whip Tony Yengeni failed to disclose that his legal fees and a newspaper advertisement was paid for by his acquaintances, and that he had also failed to declare shares in a company, have been put on hold since the matter applies to the register of interests for 2002.

About 30 MPs had yet to disclose their interests for 2002, and have been given seven days to get their records in order.

Yengeni is evidently among them. A source said that it remained to be seen whether he will disclose the information and whether further action had to be taken.

With acknowledgements to Angela Quintal, Sapa and Business Day.