Cape Town Deputy President Jacob Zuma has raised the stakes in his battle with prosecutions chief Bulelani Ngcuka, laying a complaint with the public protector about the way in which he is being investigated for alleged arms-deal corruption.

In laying the complaint with public protector Lawrence Mushwana, Zuma opened up a new offensive against Ngcuka over whether there is a prima facie case of corruption against him. It is alleged he sought a R500000-ayear bribe from French arms firm Thales to protect it in any investigation of arms deal corruption.

This is the second time Zuma has gone on the offensive. The first was when he went to court to try to gain access to documents that Ngcuka's office has in its possession, which are claimed to support the bribery allegations.

The aggressive nature of the complaint to Mushwana shows growing confidence in the Zuma camp, bolstered by his good showing at recent African National Congress (ANC) election list conferences, which make him one of the favourites to return to high office after next year's poll.

The nature of the complaint also raises questions about why Zuma should not give evidence to the Hefer commission, which is probing allegations of abuse of power against Ngcuka and Justice Minister Penuell Maduna.

The ANC has said Zuma should not have to testify, but the essence of his complaint is about Ngcuka abusing his powers, clearly within the commission's terms of reference.

Zuma said : "My complaint has focused on the abuse of power, particularly related to the manner in which the probe was conducted, the conclusion and the manner in which this was communicated, as well as its reported continuation. I assert the (authority) conducted the investigation in bad faith, motivated not by the need to search for the truth but to cast aspersions on my integrity." Ngcuka's office declined to comment.

In a separate development, Parliament's joint standing committee on intelligence took aim at retired judge Joos Hefer for issuing subpoenas to intelligence agencies. Committee chairman Siyabonga Cwele said the subpoenas were inappropriate.

With acknowledgements to Wyndham Hartley and the Business Day.