Jacob Zuma cleared a major hurdle in his march to succeed President Thabo Mbeki as African National Congress (ANC) leader next year when his corruption case was thrown out of court in Pietermaritzburg yesterday.

The decision by high court Judge Herbert Msimang places enormous pressure on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), whose credibility faces a severe test and which was unable to proceed with its prosecution of Zuma 15 months after initially charging him.

But Zuma’s victory may be shortlived, with the NPA saying the door had been left open for a reinstatement of the corruption charges against Zuma and French arms company Thint SA.

“The NPA is obviously disappointed with this decision, but wishes to stress that it does not detract from the strength of the state’s case or the ability of the NPA to bring the matter to trial when the various issues delaying the trial have been resolved,” said NPA spokesman Makhosini Nkosi.

However, the various issues delaying the state’s case include Supreme Court appeals by the state against high court rulings favouring Zuma and one of his lawyers, as well as Schabir Shaik’s appeal against his corruption conviction.

These appeals could take months to be finalised, further impairing the state’s ability to charge Zuma and Thint again. Zuma leads the race to take over as ANC president when the ruling party gathers to elect a new leadership in December next year.

The rand dipped temporarily following Msimang’s decision, slipping 1,2% to R7,45 against the dollar, but it rallied to R7,28 as markets digested the news.

In delivering judgment, Msimang rounded on the prosecution for its conduct in the case, saying the “entire case” against Zuma was based on “unsound foundations”. The case had also led to “prejudice” against Zuma.

“The problem with this type of prejudice is that it closely resembles the punishment that should only be given to a convicted person,” Msimang said.

While Msimang’s ruling did not completely lift the legal cloud over Zuma, his comments appeared to give judicial credence to Zuma and his supporters’ claims that he had been unjustly treated.

Last night, Zuma was given a hero’s welcome at the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) congress in Johannesburg.

Addressing delegates, Zuma said the judge’s ruling had restored his faith in the justice system.

Cosatu has stood by Zuma during his various trials and called for his reinstatement as deputy president of SA, a call it repeated yesterday.

“We hope that this ruling will contribute to lessening tensions in the alliance,” said South African Communist Party (SACP) general secretary Blade Nzimande.

The SACP and Cosatu say the handling of the “Zuma matter” is one of the chief sources of conflict in the ruling tripartite alliance. Nzimande said the NPA’s handling of its case “would take the struggle against corruption years back”.

Though Zuma was accompanied by ANC heavyweights in court, the party’s official response to his partial victory was muted, reflecting internal tensions over Zuma’s bid for the presidency. The party said it “accepted” Msimang’s decision, and thanked those who had demonstrated “principled and disciplined” support for its deputy president.

Mbeki’s office refused to comment.

With acknowledgement to Ernest Mabuza, Karima Brown, Vukani Mde, Sapa and Business Day.