Ousted former president Thabo Mbeki must reply by Tuesday to papers filed by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) opposing his bid in the Constitutional Court.

Tuesday is the deadline for Mbeki's lawyers to reply to the NPA, which is opposing his appeal against parts of High Court Judge Chris Nicholson's ruling which ultimately led to his removal from office.

Nicholson ruled on 12 September that he could not exclude the possibility of political interference in the decision to charge African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma with fraud and corruption.

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ANC subsequently decided to recall Mbeki.

He is appealing against "certain findings" by Nicholson in the judgment that also found the prosecution of Zuma on racketeering, money-laundering, corruption and fraud charges was invalid.

"Unfair and unjust" findings set aside

Mbeki is asking the Constitutional Court to order that the High Court "ought not to have made findings of and concerning" him "without having afforded him a hearing" and that these findings "constitute a violation of his rights".

He wants these "unfair and unjust" findings set aside.

But Zuma and the NPA opposed his application for the different reasons.

The National Director of Public Prosecutions, Mokotedi Mpshe, argued that the NPA has already lodged an application to appeal the ruling in the Pietermaritzburg High Court.

The NPA said it feared that the Constitutional Court may rule on matters that are part of its application to appeal the Pietermaritzburg High Court judgment.