The National Prosecuting Authority will approach the Supreme Court of Appeal within days in a bid 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 12 September 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".

Nicholson, who conceded that there had been no oral argument on the issue when the case was heard in August, said: "I also made orders on the two applications to strike out allegations of political interference in the papers.

"Detailed reasons have been given, both in the notice of appeal and the heads of argument, why the court erred in making such findings," he said.

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.

Zuma 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 that 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 "Nicholson indicated that we are dealing with issues that have never been dealt with before."

It is not immediately clear when the matter is likely to come before the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.

Sapa