President Jacob Zuma has made an 11th-hour concession that the decision to withdraw the more than 700 corruption charges against him was irrational.

The decision was taken in 2009 by the then National Prosecutions Authority (NPA) head Mokotedi Mpshe.

Kemp J Kemp for Zuma made the concession in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on Thursday but said his that client wanted the opportunity to make fresh representations to the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP).

This would mean that current NDPP Shaun Abrahams could then make a new decision on whether the trial should go ahead.

The NPA and Zuma approached the SCA for leave to appeal the decision by the High Court in Pretoria that ordered that the corruption charges be reinstated.

Justice Eric Leach‚ after Kemp’s argument‚ questioned why Zuma had come to the court to apply for application for leave to appeal only to concede that the decision to withdraw the charges was irrational.

This was something the High Court had already found.

Judgment in the SCA matter was reserved on Thursday.