Winnie Madikizela-Mandela blamed her predicament -- facing 60 fraud and 25 theft charges -- on "a sick law" and "a pack of lies" on Friday.

"That is a sick law if I am charged here for obtaining loans for people and I did not benefit from them," she told the Pretoria Regional Court.

"What would I hope to gain?"

Insisting that she had told the court the truth, she contested the veracity of State witnesses' testimony against her.

"I listened to a pack of lies here in this court."

However, the African National Congress Women's League president also seemed to have trouble explaining some of her own testimony.

She sought to "correct" her earlier inability to clarify how a letter she compiled as an example for the police came to be identical to alleged fraudulent ones she claims to have signed without ever reading.

The State alleges that letters on the ANCWL letterhead were used to fraudulently obtain loans from Saambou Bank.

Madikizela-Mandela appeared to have signed the letters which falsely state that a number of applicants were in the league's employ.

These included her daughter Zinzi, sister-in-law Ivy Madikizela and personal banker Dixie Seakamela.

The theft charges relate to amounts of R360 deducted from loan applicants' bank accounts for a funeral policy that allegedly did not exist.

Co-accused Addy Moolman administered the loan applications.

Madikizela-Mandela conceded that some of her actions may appear to have been unconsidered.

Asked if she never realised the danger in blindly signing documents, she said: "In hindsight now, I do recognise that our actions may seem as if they were unconsidered."

And she described as an oversight that she never read a letter of intent she signed with Saambou bank representatives to secure micro-loans.

"I was just too pleased and happy that Eunice (Martins, her secretary) could get a loan."

Although Saambou representatives said the undertaking was for the bank to extend loans to ANCWL representatives, Madikizela-Mandela said she had made it clear at the meeting that she did not represent the league there.

Prosecutor Jan Ferreira wanted to know why the letter of intent included the phrase "the ANCWL, herein represented by Mrs Winnie Mandela".

Dismissing this as "a misrepresentation of facts", she said: "If I had noted this was how it was phrased I would have said it was inaccurate."

Asked why she signed the letter, she said: "It was simply to help Eunice."

Madikizela-Mandela was no longer sure on Friday whether the letter she sent to the police was one she dictated to Martins or whether the secretary compiled it herself.

On Thursday she insisted the letter was not a copy and was drawn up off the top of her head.

The letter, confirming the employment of Humphrey Mafalala, was sent to the police in response to a query about the alleged fraudulent letters. Madikizela-Mandela said she compiled the letter to show how she would have done it.

According to the State, the wording of the letter was identical to that of the fraudulent ones she claims never to have read.

She reiterated her anger at being criminally charged, saying it was "an infuriating insult".

Ferreira asked Madikizela-Mandela whether she, had she been the prosecuting authority, would have prosecuted on the basis of the available information.

She replied: "I would agree with you categorically if what was placed before you was false information."

Ferreira stated to her that her evidence was false in as far as it differed from that given by State witnesses.

Madikizela-Mandela replied: "I've given truthful evidence in this court."

Why, Ferreira wanted to know, would various people, "disciples of yours", lie.

She replied: "In the same vein I could ask why people who benefited from the loans I am supposed to have obtained for them did not say I in fact got half of them.

"Yet I sit here to answer fraud charges while other people benefited. To me, that sounds like insane logic."

Ferreira pointed out that she herself did not necessarily have to benefit financially to be accused of fraud. It would also constitute fraud if someone else received the money through her actions.

This was a sick law, she said.

The trial was postponed April 22 - Sapa.