The State has asked for Winnie Madikizela-Mandela to be given a medium-term prison sentence for fraud and theft, but said the effect of imprisonment should be tempered.

The question should be asked whether society expected an elderly great-grandmother to be imprisoned, prosecutor Jan Ferreira told the Pretoria Regional Court on Friday.

The prosecution accepted her contribution to bring about a new political dispensation in South Africa.

"One should consider the hardship she had suffered and is still suffering. She has been banished, tortured and her husband was in prison," Ferreira said.

"Unfortunately something went wrong somewhere. She started to act as if she was above the law. She showed no respect for institutions of the state, including parliament."

Magistrate Peet Johnson adjourned the court at 10.30am, saying sentence would be passed at 11.15am.

The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) president was convicted on 43 counts of fraud and 25 of theft on Thursday.

Her co-accused, broker Addy Moolman, was found guilty on the same charges, plus 15 more of fraud.

Johnson found Moolman had submitted loan applications containing false information to Saambou Bank and brokerage firm Imstud.

The applications were accompanied by letters on the ANCWL letterhead -- with Madikizela-Mandela's signature -- stating the applicants worked for the league, while they did not.

Johnson found Moolman had arranged for premiums to be deducted from loan applicants' bank accounts for a non-existent funeral policy.

Madikizela-Mandela, who knew about this, later used the money to pay the salary of an employee of hers, the magistrate found.

Proceedings were interrupted on Friday as Ishmael Semenya, for Madikizela-Mandela, began his argument in mitigation.

A young man, calling himself Malcolm X, jumped up, saying "You are the ANC, Mama. I'll die next to you, Mama."

Malcolm X, a Wits student, was earlier in the year persuaded by Madikizela-Mandela to release a woman he had taken hostage at the University of the Witwatersrand.

As police were removing him from the packed courtroom, a second man stood up.

"You are a casualty of the revolution. We will fight left, right and centre," he shouted.

After he was taken away, Johnson warned the audience that any more disruptions would result in an arrest.

Semenya told the court that banking in South Africa was suffering a dichotomy.

[It (this theft and fraud) was the bank's fault]

Big banks cater only for a small section of society and the poor did not have access to loans.

Madikizela as a social worker tried to help such poor people, Semenya argued.

Francois Joubert, for Moolman, and Semenya blamed Saambou and Imstud for not detecting the irregularities earlier.

Joubert added "Just because this is a high-profile case, the court should not make an example of my client."

With acknowledgements to Erika de Beer and Sapa.