Winnie Mandela freed

last updated 8 January 2015

Pretoria, South Africa

The ex-wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela doesn’t have to go to jail, an appeals court ruled this week. The court overturned Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s conviction for theft, and while it upheld convictions for other fraud counts, it issued only a suspended sentence, saying the crimes were “not committed for personal gain.” Madikizela-Mandela helped arrange fraudulent bank loans, the court said, but did not pocket the money. It wasn’t the first time Madikizela-Mandela had been convicted of a crime but escaped prison. In 1991, she was sentenced to six years for kidnapping a 14-year-old boy who was later murdered by her bodyguards, but that sentence was reduced to a fine on appeal.