Deputy President Jacob Zuma has complained to the country's top legal watchdog, accusing state prosecutors of smearing his reputation by publicly airing corruption charges against him.

In a statement on Thursday, Zuma said he had filed a formal complaint with the Public Protector's Office against the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions and its director, Bulelani Ngcuka.

"I am left with no alternative but to conclude that the investigation was designed in the main to further agendas that remain unknown to me," said Zuma, who is seen as a likely successor to President Thabo Mbeki following his anticipated second five-year term.

Zuma has waged a bitter slanging match with Ngcuka, who as head of South Africa's version of the FBI announced in August that he had evidence of corruption against Zuma in connection with the arms procurement scandal but would not prosecute because it was not certain that the case was winnable in court.

Ngcuka subsequently found himself the target of accusations by a former minister that he was once a spy for the apartheid government, prompting Mbeki to form a special commission to probe the charges.

The dispute has exposed rare public divisions within the ruling ANC, which is proving to be an increasingly embarrassing political headache for the party as it prepares for general elections next year.

Zuma has denied all allegations that he discussed receiving payments from a foreign company bidding for contracts in the arms deal.

On Thursday, he repeated that Ngcuka and his staff had abused their office in an effort to keep him "permanently under a cloud of suspicion".

Specifically, he accused Ngcuka of character assassination in releasing details of the corruption allegations to the media without actually bringing charges.

"What he did was a political act and definitely not a legal act," Zuma said, urging the Public Protector to investigate the background to the incident.

The Public Protector, an independent entity, is appointed by parliament and has the power to investigate charges against government agencies or officials, recommend corrective action and issue reports.

With acknowledgements to Reuters and the Daily News.