S.Africa prosecutor says studying court ruling barring Zuma appeal on graft charges

Reuters
South African President Jacob Zuma delivers his State of the Nation address at Parliament in Cape Town, June 17, 2014. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham/Pool

PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africa's top prosecutor said on Tuesday he was still studying a Constitutional Court order from last week which said his office could not appeal a ruling that may see corruption charges reinstated against President Jacob Zuma. Shaun Abrahams, the head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), told a media briefing that no decision had been made yet in response to the decision on Friday. The High Court in April ordered a review of an NPA decision to set aside hundreds of corruption charges against Zuma, calling it "irrational". That decision allowed Zuma to run for president in 2009. The scandals swirling around Zuma contributed to the worst election showing by the ruling African National Congress in local polls in August, intensifying calls for his resignation. Abrahams said at the same news briefing that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan would be prosecuted for fraud in relation to severance packages and the extension of employment contracts at the South African Revenue Service. (Reporting by Joe Brock; Writing by Ed Stoddard; Editing by James Macharia)