South Africa’s top prosecutor on Friday reinstated decade-old corruption charges against former President Jacob Zuma, escalating the retired leader’s legal troubles just weeks after he stepped down.
The charges, linked to Mr. Zuma’s alleged involvement in a 1999 weapons deal, had been dropped for procedural reasons in April 2009 shortly before Mr. Zuma was elected president of Africa’s most developed economy. Last year a court ruled that the decision to throw out the charges had been irrational and ordered prosecutors to reinstate...