PRETORIA Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who will appear in court again this week on charges of fraud and theft, has suffered a series of setbacks both personally and politically, which has tainted her image as a female icon of the struggle against apartheid.

Madikizela-Mandela, 65, the flamboyant ex-wife of former president Nelson Mandela, and called the "Mother of the Nation" during apartheid years, will appear in a Pretoria regional court on 85 charges of fraud and theft involving around one million rand (100,000 dollars/euros).

The charges relate to an alleged scam over the use of her signature to obtain bank loans for people claimed fraudulently to be members of the African National Congress (ANC) Women's League, AFP reported.

In 1958 three months after marrying Nelson Mandela, Madikizela-Mandela entered the fight for the country's liberation when she was arrested for her role in an anti-pass campaign, to protest the carrying of documents restricting black people's movements.

In 1962, she was banned by the white regime and as a result lost her job as a trained social worker.

The National Party government continued to serve banning orders on her, and in 1985, following the fire-bombing of her house in Brandfort, in South Africa's central free state province, she returned to Soweto in defiance of the order.

Her bravery as the only person within South Africa who publicly mouthed ANC positions at the time drew international acclaim.

But during that same year, Madikizela-Mandela made the first in a series of controversial statements, being quoted as saying that blacks would be liberated by means of matches and tires (necklace killings by placing a burning tire around a victim's neck).

In 1989, her controversial group of bodyguards, the Mandela United Football Club, was carrying out a reign of terror in Soweto when four young activists were kidnapped and one of them, Stompie Sepei, was killed.

She was later convicted of kidnapping and accessory to assault, and sentenced to six years in jail. On appeal, however, the conviction was upheld and a fine imposed instead of the sentence.

Details of the killing emerged during hearings held in 1997 and 1998 by South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which probed atrocities committed during apartheid. A TRC report said the following: "What is tragic is that so heroic a figure as Ms. Madikizela-Mandela, with her own rich history of contribution to the struggle, became embroiled in a controversy that caused immeasurable damage to her reputation."

In April 1992, her husband announced their separation, with the statesman citing "personal reasons" for their divorce.

Following the ANC's resounding victory in 1994, Madikizela-Mandela was appointed a deputy minister in cabinet, but in March 1995, president Mandela announced her sacking.

She remains however, a member of parliament and president of the Women's League.

Her drift away from the ANC's inner circles culminated last year in a snub by South African President Thabo Mbeki, who angrily pushed her away at a youth day rally in Soweto on June 16 after she arrived late and stooped over to kiss him.

She's also in trouble with Parliament: so far she has failed to attend an ethics committee hearing to explain donations of 50,000 rands (5,000 dollars/euros) a month which she allegedly did not disclose, as required from parliamentarians.

Last month, the Johannesburg High Court reserved judgement in a separate case in which she owed a bank more than 100,000 rand for petrol and credit card purchases.

Her car was confiscated and the bank also took back her card.

But Madikizela-Mandela's fiery and populist speeches remain as popular amongst South Africa's poorest citizens. "To tell you the honest truth," she recently told a local radio station, "I don't give a damn. Whatever they do to me, it's like water off a duck's back." "I am the ANC. I will lead the ANC Women's League until I die. I will continue to fight for women in this country until God calls me."