South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) boss, Shaun Abrahams, on Friday announced that former President Jacob Zuma will face criminal charges. “After consideration of the matter there are reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution of Mr Zuma,” said Abrahams at a media conference. Zuma faces 783 counts of corruption relating to a R30 billion government arms deal in the late 1990s. They were filed but then dropped by the NPA shortly before Zuma ran for president in 2009. The deal to buy European military kit has cast a shadow over politics in Africa’s most industrialised economy for years. Zuma, then deputy president, was linked to the deal through Schabir Shaikh, his former financial adviser who was jailed for corruption. Abrahams earlier received the recommendations of a team of prosecutors that considered Zuma’s representations as to why he should not be prosecuted. Zuma disputes all the allegations against him. SABC and Nampa