Cape Town — South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) has attacked national prosecutors for appealing a court ruling which dismissed corruption charges against ANC leader Jacob Zuma.

ANC spokesperson Jessie Duarte accused the country's National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of making a "cynical and ill-considered" decision. Zuma is the party's choice to replace Thabo Mbeki as President of South Africa when Mbeki's second and final five-year term comes to an end next year.

The NPA announced Wednesday that it would apply for leave to appeal against the decision of a judge who found that it had failed to give Zuma the opportunity to make representations as to why he should not be charged.

The prosecutors said they had taken the opinion of senior counsel, and contended that the judge's interpretation of the law was wrong. They said they would decide whether to reinstitute charges against Zuma only after the appeal had been finalized.

Duarte said the NPA had not "taken to heart" the judge's findings about its conduct. "The decision suggests that personal pride, rather than reason, is driving the actions of the NPA," she added.

Zuma is accused of racketeering, money-laundering, corruption and fraud relating to weapons deals.