The man favourite to become South Africa’s next president began his latest fight for political survival yesterday as he went to court to get wide-ranging corruption charges dropped.

Jacob Zuma, leader of the ANC, was flanked by senior party officials and hundreds of supporters on the streets outside Pietermaritzburg High Court as his lawyer argued the State’s case against him was unlawful.

If the case proceeds, it could represent a serious challenge to his presidential bid at next year’s elections. He said he would not stand if convicted while a protracted trial could overshadow campaigning and embarrass the ANC, which attracts widespread support and is almost certain to win the popular vote.

Mr Zuma's legal team said that if present application bid failed it would bring another for a permanent stay of prosecution, claiming that repeated delays render a fair trial impossible.

The charismatic Zuma, 66, faces 16 charges of racketeering, corruption, money laundering and fraud. The main charges against him are that he allegedly took bribes for protecting a French arms company, Thint, during an inquiry into an arms deal.

His former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, was handed a 15-year prison sentence for paying him bribes in 2005 but a trial against Mr Zuma collapsed a year later after the judge said the case “went from one disaster to another”.

Mr Zuma, dressed in smart grey suit, appeared relaxed and smiled at supporters as his softly-spoken lawyer, Kemp J Kemp, argued his case. He said that the charges should be thrown out because prosecutors did not follow constitutional rules when deciding to recharge him.

“Where is the justice?” he said. “How is it fair?”

At one stage Judge Chris Nicholson asked Mr Kemp to speak louder because the court room could not hear him. Outside supporters kept vigil, singing revolutionary songs, including Mr Zuma’s trademark anti-apartheid song Bring Me My Machine Gun. The peaceful crowd carried placards reading “Zuma for president” and sold souvenirs bearing his image, under the gaze of a heavy police presence.

The staging of the hearing in Pietermaritzburg, where the offences are alleged to have taken place, has added extra significance because it is located in Mr Zuma’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal.

However the crowd sizes were lower than expected. The Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans’ Association’s (MKMVA) — the ANC’s military arm — had claimed that 10,000 would turn up to protest.

Jessie Duarte, an ANC spokeswoman, said that Mr Zuma was being persecuted by the National Prosecuting Authority for political reasons.

His supporters claim that Thabo Mbeki, the South African President and Mr Zuma's political rival, is behind the prosecution. Mr Zuma beat Mr Mbeki for the leadership of the ANC in an acrimonious battle last December, which led to a political falling out between the rival camps.

Since then, Mbeki loyalists have been ousted from influential committees and posts within provincial governments as Zuma loyalists take a firmer group over the party.

The prospect of a second corruption trial has also seen wider divisions with claims of conspiracy. Before the trial the MKMVA warned that a legal defeat “would not be tolerated”.

As well as accusations of persecution by the National Prosecuting Authority, the independence of the judiciary has been questioned by allegations that a senior judge had tried to influence other judges on a matter related to Mr Zuma. Senior ANC officials have led a sustained attack against the judiciary, saying that elements were counter-revolutionary.

The two-day hearing is expected to end today.

In a separate ruling Judge Chris Nicholson ordered that a fraud and corruption case against Thint be postponed until December.

Last week, Mr Zuma’s legal team was dealt a blow when the Constitutional Court upheld a ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeals that raids on the politician and his lawyer were valid and that thousands of documents seized could be used against him in a trial.

Mr Zuma, who is seen as a champion of the poor, was cleared of rape in May 2006 after a trial in which he admitted sleeping with a family friend who was HIV-positive and half his age. During the trial he said he took a shower after sex to minimise the risk of infection.

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