Johannesburg - The State reached an agreement at the highest level of the National Prosecutions Authority during a meeting chaired by its head, Bulelani Ngcuka, on how Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's sentence should be handled.

This emerged on Wednesday after the legal fraternity sharply criticised the authority's request that the former African National Congress Women's League president's sentence should be suspended, amid fears among opposition parties of political interference.

Prosecutions communication chief Sipho Ngwema said on Wednesday it was decided during the meeting the State should tell the court of mitigating circumstances, including Madikizela-Mandela's age - she is 66 - and the fact that "she worked very hard for the struggle and contributed to the current dispensation".

Ngwema said: "But, she must be punished for her offences. The State has asked for a suspended sentence linked to possible correctional supervision, including house arrest.

"It is not the first time the State has asked that an elderly person not be sent to jail," said Ngwema.

Lawyers, who did not want to be named for fear of victimisation, said it was cause for concern that the State had informed the court of circumstances to be taken into account in mitigation of sentence.

Unisa law professor Petro Swanepoel and Regional Magistrates Association of South Africa president Adriaan Bekker said they would have expected the State to point out aggravating circumstances instead.

Madikizela-Mandela was earlier found guilty in Pretoria regional court on 43 counts of fraud and 25 of theft after she and her broker, Addy Moolman, submitted false applications for personal loans to Saambou in the name of the ANC Women's League.

Magistrate Peet Johnson sentenced her to five years in prison, one of which was suspended.

The remaining four were imposed in terms of article 276 (i) of criminal procedure law, according to which she should serve about eight months before being eligable for parole.

Ngwema said if the prosecutions authority had wanted to give her preferential treatment it simply could have refused to prosecute Madikizela-Mandela because it was the State's prerogative to decide if prosecutions should continue.

"We must be careful that these allegations aren't simply about a black person being treated differently.

"No one complained when the prosecutions authority reached an agreement with former cricket captain Hansie Cronje not to prosecute him for match-fixing. We need to look at the case with sensitivity," said Ngwema.

Bekker said that by asking for the same sentence as Madikizela-Mandela's lawyers, the State was indirectly putting pressure on Johnson.

"The State has contributed to the perception on the street that the magistrate was unreasonable by imposing a different sentence to what the parties were requesting. "Hence the threats from students to burn down prisons because they considered the sentence unreasonable," said Bekker.

With acknowledgements to Sonja Carstens and Beeld.