Judge Piet Koen, who was presiding over the arms deal public corruption case against former South African President Jacob Zuma, decided yesterday to withdraw from the trial of the nearly twenty-year-old case.

The South African judge indicated that there may have been "partiality" in the way the case was handled, adding that it was in the "interests of justice" to withdraw from the trial of the public corruption case against the former South African head of state.

"I have come to the conclusion, and it was not an easy decision, that I must withdraw from the trial," declared Judge Piet Koen.

"This is what the proper administration of justice, the requirements of the Constitution and my conscience dictate," he said.

According to the judge, "the integrity of the judicial process must be safeguarded against any attempt at suspicion, so that the public and litigants can have the utmost confidence in the integrity and fairness" of the courts, and "the trial must therefore be conducted by another judge".

The South African judge's decision was announced this morning at the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg, in the south-east of the country.