The National Prosecuting Authority will approach the Supreme Court of Appeal in "a matter of days" to obtain a date on which its appeal against a judgment invalidating charges against ANC president Jacob Zuma can be heard. Speaking on Wednesday after Judge Chris Nicholson granted the NPA leave to appeal his September 12 judgement, NPA spokesman Tlali Tlali said: "We will approach the SCA in a matter of days.

We will endeavour to have this appeal finalised as expeditiously as possible." Granting leave to appeal in the Durban High Court, Nicholson said the case was a complex one and that certain sections of the Constitution had never before been argued and "occasioned me much anxious deliberation". On September 12 Nicholson ruled that the state's decision to prosecute Zuma was unlawful because the state had failed to take representations from Zuma.

In that same judgment he alluded to the strong possibility of political interference in the case. He added that a commission of inquiry should be established into the country's arms deal, that had led to Zuma initially being charged. "The primary question of whether the matter was of a civil or criminal nature was raised over in the sense that it had never been considered before and occasioned me much anxious deliberation. "In addition the legal question as to whether the provisions of section 179(5)(d) of the Constitution and the corresponding provisions in the National Prosecuting Authority Act were applicable to the applicant in the main application was a very complex issue which had never been considered before by the courts," Nicholson said.

However, Kemp J Kemp for the Zuma team, said during argument that he did not believe another court would rule differently on Nicholson's September 12 judgment. While there were no masses of Zuma supporters, court L was packed to capacity with journalists straining to hear every last word of the deliberations. Zuma himself was currently in the USA. Referring to the allegations of political interference, Kemp said: "We never tried to establish the truth of these allegations". He said that all the court needed to do was prove the existence of the allegations.

Advocate Wim Trengove, for the state, said: "If those allegations were put up, not to establish the truth, but merely to establish that such allegations had been and are being made, then, with respect, the court made a fundamental error because it proceeded to inquire into the truth and make findings on the truth of those allegations." Zuma faced a charge each of racketeering and money laundering, two charges of corruption and 12 charges of fraud related to the multi-billion rand government arms deal. He was charged in 2005, but that case was struck from the roll in 2006. He was recharged in December 2007. Zuma's attorney Michael Hulley declined to speak to the media after proceedings.

Tlali said the NPA had "taken note of the fact that leave to appeal had been granted on all 16 grounds" and that the ruling "bolsters" the NPA. He said the case also needed to be finalised because "Judge Nicholson indicated that we are dealing with issues that have never been dealt with before." According to the ANC it was merely another attempt to thwart Zuma's bid to become president. Said ANC spokesman Brian Sokutu: "The move by the NPA, coming after the earlier vindication and exoneration of comrade Zuma by the Pietermaritzburg High Court, signals yet another attempt to resurrect the trial and block the ANC president from running and becoming head of state."

Sokutu said Zuma had been subjected to a "vindictive prosecution". He said the legislature, executive and judiciary had all denied Zuma equal protection before the law. "The September judgment made it clear that the NPA acted as though it was a law unto itself with undue political interference." He said that judgment was a "victory for justice and the Constitution". Sokutu reiterated the ANC's support for Zuma as " the face of the organisation" in the run-up to next year's elections.

The Independent Democrats, however, welcomed the decision. Party leader Patricia De Lille said: "The ID has always maintained that a fair trial includes the right to appeal and that we are all equal before the law. "The appeal will further assist in defining the constitutional provisions of the NPA, as far as its independence is concerned. We appeal to the Zuma-led ANC camp to respect the decision by the court, to grant the NPA leave to appeal."

With acknowledgements to Giordano Stolley and Sapa.