South African state prosecutors said they would respond on Monday to a court ruling that President Jacob Zuma should face almost 800 corruption charges, in a move that could threaten his hold on power.

The charges, relating to a multibillion dollar arms deal, were dropped in 2009, clearing the way for Zuma to be elected president just weeks later.

The prosecutor justified dropping the charges by saying that tapped phone calls between officials in then-president Thabo Mbeki's administration showed political interference in the case.