Johannesburg - The national prosecutions authority did not take a lenient or soft approach when African National Congress former chief whip Tony Yengeni was sentenced to up to four years in prison for misleading parliament.

So says prosecutions deputy chief Jan Henning SC after sharp criticism by the legal fraternity and politicians who fear Yengeni and former ANC Women's League president Winnie Madikizela-Mandela received preferential treatment from the State in sentencing.

The criticism comes after the State failed to ask in Pretoria commercial court that Yengeni be sent to prison, but left sentencing up to the court.

Prosecutor Gerda Ferreira said Yengeni had abused his position in parliament out of greed to acquire a flashy car.

On R10 000 bail, pending appeal

Magistrate Bill Moyses sentenced Yengeni in terms of article 76 (i) of the Criminal Procedure Act. He must serve a sixth of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

Earlier, he was released on R10 000 bail pending his appeal.

Henning said there had been numerous negotiations between the State and Yengeni's legal team before he pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud and corruption. He later admitted to the fraud charge.

"Yengeni made various submissions to the State which were unacceptable.

"After negotiations, the parties reached agreement on a plea, but could not agree on a sentence. The parties decided not to ask for a sentence, leaving it up to the magistrate.

"Because Yengeni had already pleaded and offered to be a State witness, a plea agreement could not be reached in terms of which a sentence was agreed," said Henning.

With acknowledgements to Sonja Carstens and Beeld.