ANC staff spilled out of their Luthuli House headquarters and held a spontaneous street party in the Johannesburg city centre yesterday, convinced party president Jacob Zuma's legal woes were over.

And although the National Prosecuting Authority will only publicly announce its decision on Monday morning, as far as the workers were concerned, the long running saga was over.

Brandishing ANC election posters and singing Zuma's trademark Aweluth' umshini wami, the group of about 70, danced and disrupted traffic for about half an hour.

An ecstatic woman sporting a Zuma t-shirt, urged the Saturday Star's photographer to take a picture.

ANC security officials chivvied the staff back indoors, telling them: "It's not official yet".

The ANC denied afterwards that its staff had been privy to information that the rest of the country would only hear officially at 10.30am on Monday.

The NPA said yesterday acting prosecutions boss Mokotedi Mpshe and his deputy Willie Hofmeyr, would address a Monday press conference, and give full reasons for whatever decision was announced. The reason for the ongoing delay has been to "tie up loose ends".

Zuma cancelled an appearance at last night's North Sea Jazz Festival in Cape Town, given that he had to attend a Shembe church service on the West Rand this morning. The NPA said it would inform Zuma of its decision, before making a public announcement.

Mpshe met Justice Minister Enver Surty in Pretoria yesterday, although details remained private.

KwaZulu-Natal Judge President Vuka Tshabalala said yesterday that the NPA had not approached him for a court date for the charges to be dropped, which is necessary in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act.

Opposition parties meanwhile reacted with anger, with DA leader Helen Zille warning that a "cover-up" would add immeasurably to the scandal and irreparably damage the country's constitutional democracy.

UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said he had reliable information that the charges would indeed be dropped.

He told reporters that as part of a public relations exercise, police would be asked to "further investigate" some aspects of this matter - an apparent reference to the so-called spy tapes pointing to alleged political interference in the Zuma prosecution.

NPA spokesman Tlali Tlali said the NPA had not asked police to investigate top former NPA staff Leonard McCarthy and Bulelani Ngcuka or former president Thabo Mbeki on allegations of defeating the ends of justice.

With acknowledgements to Angela Quintal, Karyn Maughan, Christelle Terreblanche, Paballo Thekiso and The Star.