The South African High Court in Pretoria says the country's President Jacob Zuma should face almost 800 corruption charges that were dropped in 2009.

The court ruled that the decision by the National Prosecuting Authority was irrational and should be reviewed. The charges, relating to a multi-billion dollar arms deal, were dropped in 2009.

The prosecutor had said tapped phone calls between senior officials in then-president Thabo Mbeki's administration, showed political interference in the case. The move had cleared the way for Zuma to be elected president later the same year. But the main opposition party has since fought a long legal battle against the prosecutor's decision.